Dead Man's Chest: Jack's Quest for an Answer
by Sparrow Love7
Summary: Sequel to Meeting His Second Love!  All characters are back in another dangerous adventure with Davy Jones.  Along the way, Jack questions his relationship with Amanda and Daniel realizes that he and Amanda's past is fading entirely.  PLEASE READ!
1. The Beginning

_Here it is! I hope that all my old fans from the previous Pirates story are back to read this one. I could not wait to start this because I love writing stories about these movies. This one will be much longer than the last one because I want it to be. Haha…enjoy!_

The Beginning

The fog was gathering among the _Black Pearl_ causing mist to fall against Amanda's soft cheeks. It was night, but not a single star was seen as the dark clouds shielded them. She stared out at the pitch black water, listening to the sound of Gibb's singing voice. She moved her head so as to get a glimpse of the rum bottle he was holding.

"Fifteen men on a dead man's chest. Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum." Gibbs was walking towards her with a staggered walk. She smiled and felt the eerie wind move her dark hair across her shoulders. "Drink and the devil had done for the rest. Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum." He raised his drink in the air with a laugh. She followed suit as he lifted the rum to his lips.

Suddenly, a bell towed somewhere off to the distance. It echoed through the still, night air, and the two of them looked out at it. It made chills rise up Amanda's arms and she walked up behind Gibbs.

Gibbs smelled of rum and the sea and Amanda could feel the mist off his clothing. She whispered, "Is that it?"

Gibbs waited. "I think it is, missy. I think it is."

Crows cackled over their heads and flew towards a large structure against the coast nearby. Candles were lit in the windows of the building and it stood high above the water of the ocean.

"Was that it?" someone asked from behind them.

Amanda and Gibbs turned around to see Daniel standing before them. His shaggy hair was tossed about and reached his shoulders. Amanda could see him grasping his sword nervously.

Gibbs must have seen it too, for he reached forward and patted Daniel's shoulder. "There's no need for fighting tonight. Jack said all would go well with the plan." He walked away towards the other end of the ship.

Daniel stepped towards Amanda, still looking up at the large fortress. "Jack also said it wouldn't take this long," he said, dropping his British accent.

Amanda shook her head. "Jack will be fine." She slowly lifted her head to see the candles burning. "He knows what he's doing."

There was heavy machinery churning inside the building that the crew knew nothing of. Men were yelling orders and every so often, Amanda's heard jolted when she heard the soft cry of moaning prisoners. _"Please let him be okay." _

Turning around, Amanda saw that Daniel was no longer standing with her. She looked towards the railing and saw that he was now leaning against it, looking out at the dark water.

She walked over to him and leaned right next to him. "Why are you more nervous that me?" she asked with a laugh.

He sighed. "I don't know. Ever since that hurricane…"

"We're fine now," Amanda interrupted. "That was weather which Jack can't usually predict. This is different."

"I suppose you're right." His eyes reflected the flickering of the candles. "You just never know."

A shallow scream pierced the night and Amanda and Daniel's heads shot up at the sound. It soon grew silent again, except for the heavy breathing of Amanda. Daniel turned his head toward her. "Looks like I'm not the only one that's nervous."

She walked over to a barrel and sat upon it. "This plan was a dangerous one." Daniel walked over to her. "More dangerous than Jack has ever planned before."

Daniel kneeled down and put his hand on hers. She looked up and saw that he was smiling softly at her. "Since when has Jack ever been defeated?"

It was true. Jack seemed to get out of every life threatening situation that he was ever forced to be in. Just a couple months ago, Jack had escaped the gallows, with the help of Will Turner. Amanda smiled at the memory, but still got chills as she thought of how close Jack had been to getting hanged.

"I wonder what Will and Elizabeth are doing right now," Daniel said, looking at the sails.

Amanda laughed. "Probably getting married."

Daniel laughed with her, but he soon got serious "I'm sure we'll see them again, aren't you?"

This question had always been stirring in her mind. Amanda and Daniel had seen the first of the _Pirates _movie, but had never seen beyond that. At least, in their first adventure, they kinda knew what to expect. Now, it seemed more real. They were really trapped in the past, not knowing what adventures were in store for them.

"Any view of Jack?" a sharp voice called from the wheel.

Amanda stood up and looked out at the water. Waves were still hitting the side of the ship, but she could not see the single shape of any human. She turned to Anamaria. "No! He's not back yet!" Anamaria sat down again and put her hat over her eyes. "Do you think something went wrong?" Amanda asked her.

She slowly lifted her hat. "No. Jack knows what he's doing with this one."

Amanda stared at her for a second and then sat back down on the barrel. "Guess all we can do is wait," she whispered to Daniel.

"Guess so…"

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A shot rang through the air and Amanda woke up with a start.

Daniel shot up too and looked dumbly over at her. They were both leaning against the barrel and had apparently fallen asleep while waiting for Jack. "Did you hear that?" Daniel asked her.

She stood up and walked over to the side of the ship. A smile spread across her face and she looked behind her. "Gibbs!...Gibbs!"

Gibbs quickly walked down the stairs from the higher deck. "What is it, Miss Margaret?"

"Jack is back."

He walked towards where the two of them were standing and looked out at the water.

Jack Sparrow was rowing towards them, in what appeared to be a coffin. He had a slight smile on his face and he looked rather satisfied as he got closer to the ship.

The whole crew was starting to show up now and were all looking curiously down at Jack.

"Drop the ladder down!" Gibbs cried out. There was sudden movement as the men ran around the ship. He looked at Amanda. "Looks like the captain got what he needed."

"And what was that?"

"No idea," Gibbs said excitedly. "We'll soon find out." He ran towards the ladder, waiting for Jack to climb up.

After a couple minutes time, a skeleton leg appeared over the side of the ship, which Jack was holding onto. Gibbs grabbed hold of it and helped Jack up off the ladder. He stared down at it in disgust. "Not _quite _according to plan."

Cotton threw Jack's jacket over his shoulders as Jack grimaced. "Complications arose, ensued, were overcome."

He turned and was face-to-face with Amanda. A soft smile spread across his face as he looked down at her and she smiled back. "Longer than you expected, captain?" she teased.

"Worth it in the end." He walked past her and Gibbs followed.

"You got what you went for, then?"

"Mm-hmm." Jack lifted a scroll of cloth with a tie wrapped around it. Amanda's heart dropped with disappointment. Jack turned and saw that the entire crew was standing before him, their arms crossed and feet tapping. Daniel and Amanda walked up behind Jack, who was now looking nervously at the crew.

Gibbs turned Jack towards him. "Captain, I think the crew, meaning me as well, were expecting something a bit more…shiny. With the Isla de Muerta going pear-shaped, reclaimed by the sea, and the treasure with it."

A dark man of the crew spoke up. "And the Royal Navy chasing us around the Atlantic."

"And the hurricane," Daniel and the little man said at the same time.

"Aye," the crew murmured in agreement.

Jack's top lip twitched, but Gibbs continued to speak. "All in all, it seems some time since we did a speck of honest pirating."

There was silence for a moment and then Jack said into Gibb's face, "Shiny."

"Aye, shiny."

The crew stared at Jack as he looked at each and every one of them. "Is that how you're all feeling? That perhaps dear old Jack is not serving your best interests as captain?"

The men gave each other significant looks, but Cotton's parrot suddenly squawked. "Walk the plank."

Jack raised his gun and pointed it at the parrot. "What did the bird say?"

Amanda grabbed Jack's arm and slowly pulled it down. The dark man spoke again as Jack took a deep breath. "Do not blame the bird. Show us what is on that piece of cloth there."

All of a sudden, Barbossa's cursed monkey flew down from the sails of the ship and screeched right at Jack's face. Everyone let out a cry, Amanda's being the loudest, and Jack shot a bullet directly at the monkey. It fell down on the deck and grabbed the piece of cloth out of Jack's hand.

Jack reached into one of the men's belts and grabbed their gun. As Jack, the monkey, was halfway across the deck, a bullet sent him flying a couple feet.

Gibbs sighed. "You know that won't do no good."

"It does me," Jack said.

The monkey went screeching away and the small man was picking up the cloth, frowning down at it. "It's a key," he said bluntly.

The crew gathered around him and Jack stepped forward. "No. Much more better." He took the cloth out of his hands and smiled up at everyone. "It is a _drawing _of a key."

The wind howled against the ship as everybody stared vacantly at the key drawing. Jack rolled his eyes. "Gentlemen…" Amanda and Anamaria cleared their throats. "…and ladies…what do keys do?"

One man spoke up. "Keys…unlock things?"

Amanda gasped, knowing that this was leading to something good.

"And whatever this key unlocks, inside there's something valuable. So we're setting out to find whatever this key unlocks," Gibbs said with pride.

"No," Jack answered. Gibbs stopped smiling as Jack stood closer to him. "If we don't have the key, we can't open whatever it is we don't have that it unlocks. So what purpose would be served in finding whatever need be unlocked, which we don't have, without first having found the key what unlocks it?"

Amanda giggled and Gibbs jaw slightly cocked open. "So we're going after this key."

Jack frowned. "You're not making any sense at all." Gibbs's eyes fogged over and Jack called out over the crew, "Any more questions?"

"A heading, Jack?" Daniel asked.

Jack started rummaging through his pockets. "Ha. A heading." Out of his pocket came one of his most valuable possessions; the compass. He opened it and stuck his finger in the air. "Set sail in a…general…" His finger was swinging in different directions, obviously not knowing on what way they should be traveling. The crew stared at him and he pointed off the left side of the ship. "that-way direction." He shut the compass.

"Captain?" Gibbs asked.

Jack turned towards him. "Come on, snap to it and make sail. You know how this works." He pushed through the crew towards the stairs. "Go on. Oi oi oi."

Amanda watched him walk by, her eyebrows furrowed. Daniel came up next to her, also looking at the back of Jack. "Something's weird with Jack." Jack walked down the stairs to his room below. "Maybe you should go talk to him."

"He hasn't been one to talk lately," Amanda said quietly.

And it was true. Amanda used to be able to go into Jack's room every night, with innocent purposes, and he would let her in at all costs. Now, it was a miracle that Jack would let her in to talk with him. He seemed to be very distant with her.

Daniel sighed. "Just go try. It isn't like Jack to not know his own heading."

Amanda sighed and walked away without another word to Daniel. She walked down the wooden stairs to the hollow room below. Part of the crew was gathering around, whispering to one another. As Amanda approached, they hissed and stood up straight with smiles on their faces. "How ya doin miss?" one of them asked.

Amanda smirked and kept on walking down the hallway. She heard the men resume their conversation as she distanced herself.

Jack's room was at the far end of the hall, with a noble door guarding the entrance. Amanda had knocked many times on this door, but for some reason she felt nervous as she approached it.

"Jack," she said quietly. There was no sound. "Jack," Amanda continued, "please open up. I just want to talk."

The door suddenly opened and Amanda gasped in surprise.

Jack was standing there, looking down at her. His face was emotionless as he asked, "What is it, love?"

"Can I come in?"

"What for?" he asked quickly.

"Jack, all I want to do is talk to you." She laughed. "It feels like it's been weeks since we've had a decent conversation."

Jack pursed his lips in thought. He finally nodded and opened the door wider for her.

She stepped inside the large bedroom. His room was situated at the back of the ship where Jack could see the ocean at any time. The bed was against the largest wall and had many antique coverings and sheets on it. Amanda walked over to the window and glanced out of it. The moon was shining against the dark water, giving an eerie glow to it.

"So what do I owe to this pleasure?" Jack asked mockingly behind her.

Amanda turned and stared at him. Jack's smile slowly fell of his face. He turned around and walked towards the opposite side of the room. Amanda followed him. "Why won't you talk with me?" she asked desperately. Jack stopped, but still faced away. "Isn't it clear that all I want to do is figure out what's wrong? The past couple weeks have been so strange." Jack was now facing her, staring down at her like she was crazy. "You stay in that study of yours at all hours staring at a map and that compass of yours."

Jack's eyes widened. "Looks like I'm being spied on now."

Amanda rolled her eyes. "I'm not _spying _on you, Jack. I'm just taking notice of what you're doing because I _care _for you." Jack looked at her. "Yes, I really do, Jack." She turned around and walked over to the window again. Running her hand through her hair, she sighed. "But if you want me to stop doing that, then just ask me. I can tell when I'm clearly wasting my time."

It was silent for a moment and Amanda just breathed heavily to let the steam out of her. Finally, she heard Jack come up behind her. He stood there for a moment, but then lightly touched her arm. "Margaret, I'm sorry. It's just…pirate business, love. You know how it is with this type of work. I guess I've just been distracted with all the troubles we've been going through." His hand slid down to her waist and Amanda felt chills rise up her arms. "I'm never too distracted for this though," Jack smiled.

Amanda giggled and turned towards him. He was smiling down at her with a smooth grin. Amanda rolled her eyes, but put herself against him.

Jack pushed her back, but still held onto her. He looked down at Amanda and then suddenly kissed her as hard as he could. His hands traveled across her body and Amanda let them wander.

_"This is a good conversation," _Amanda thought to herself. Jack gently picked her up and took her over to the bed to lie her down for the night.

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The sunlight hit Amanda's closed eyes. She groaned and slowly sat up to avoid the glare. The blankets were gathered against her bare legs and she gently pulled them off her.

Jack had already gotten up to do his captain duties. He was always the first to get up after they had slept together.

The truth was… all Amanda and Jack had ever done was _sleep _together. They had never taken it any further then that. Of course, their relationship was at the point where innocent clothing was taken off, but it just never seemed to reach any further point. It didn't disappoint either of them, because neither of them felt the need to. It just seemed too soon to Amanda.

She stepped out of the bed and put on her dress. There was a small barrel in the corner of the room which was full of water. Amanda walked over to it to wash her hair and clean her teeth. _"These are the times that I miss present day," _she said as she dunked her head in the barrel.

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"Morning, Miss Margaret!" Gibbs cried from top deck.

Amanda shielded the sun and looked up at Gibbs. "Morning, Gibbs!"

"So, did you talk to him?"

Amanda turned around and saw Daniel standing behind her. She sighed and started to walk over to her post, Daniel following. "He just said that he was distracted with all his duties."

"And you believe that?"

Amanda stopped and looked at Daniel. "Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?" She walked more quickly from rope to rope, hoisting each one a little higher.

Daniel chased after her. "Because you know that Jack has never been distracted _before_ with his duties."

"That's because they've never been this extreme."

Daniel suddenly grabbed her shoulders to get her to stop. The bright sun shone against his light eyes as they bored into hers. "Amanda, something is up. I can feel it."

"And what do you think it is?"

Daniel smiled. "Jack is on to something good."

Amanda rolled her eyes and pushed his hands off her. "I knew that you just wanted me to find out because you want more money," she said over her shoulder as she continued her job. "You don't really care that Jack is upset about something; you just want more treasure." She laughed in spite of herself.

Daniel laughed too as he walked up behind her. "Of course I care about Jack. He's my captain, isn't he?"

"Daniel, get to work!" Jack cried from the wheel.

Doing a quick hand salute, Daniel cried, "Ay ay, Captain!" He comically marched away to his post, leaving Amanda in giggles.

After a minute, Amanda started to stare at Jack. It was true that he was acting excited about something lately and it definitely could be something better than pillaging. Jack was still looking at that drawing of the key he had acquired the day before. Amanda looked into his eyes and saw that there was pure desire in them. He suddenly looked up and caught Amanda staring at him. She flinched and quickly smiled. Jack smiled too, but then went right back to staring at the key drawing.

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"Your post is over, Margaret," Gibbs said from behind her.

"Oh," Amanda said, turning away from the water. "Thank you, Gibbs."

She started to walk away, but Gibbs suddenly whispered, "Margaret." She turned around and he gestured for her to come towards him. "I've been starting to get a theory," he continued to whisper.

"A theory?"

Gibbs shushed her, and she looked around to see if anyone was listening. The crew was still doing all the jobs that needed to be done. He continued to talk. "Something's strange with Jack, wouldn't you agree?"

Amanda's heart sank. She thought Gibb's news would be exciting. "I guess you could say that."

Gibbs held his hands up excitedly. "What if the captain is on to something new?"

"Something new? You mean…a new town to pillage?"

"No…no…" he said shaking his head impatiently. "I mean…something better that any pillaging or robbing. Something better…" he dropped his voice to a dramatic whisper. "…than the Isle de Muerta."

Amanda stared at him for a second, but then she stood up straight. "I don't think so. There are not too many loot places that are better than the Isle de Muerta."

"I thought that too, missy. But then I thought about it. Jack got really excited about that drawing. What if…what if that key leads to something better than treasure?"

"Care for a drink?"

Amanda jumped and bumped against the man that had just spoken. She turned and saw that it was one of the Indian crew members. She gasped and grabbed onto his arms. "I'm so sorry. You frightened me." He stared at her angrily, for what had been her drink was now running down his face. "I'm so sorry! Here…let me clean you up."

"That's quite all right," he said shortly and walked away.

Amanda turned towards Gibbs again. "He's never liked me that much."

He shrugged. "That's because the captain takes special liking to you."

Her face turned red and she looked down. "Well, I'll let you at your post. I need to get out of this hot sun. It's making me all flustered." She walked towards the steps and scurried down to her one-of-the-many hammocks.

Amanda sighed of relief as she threw her slippers off and slowly sunk into the soft fabric of her bed. _"What could be better than the Isle de Muerta? Jack knows something we don't and he's too scared to tell me." _She bit her lip, but let her eyes close. _"Once it becomes too important, he'll be forced to tell me…I hope." _Then, she was soon taken over with exhaustion and let herself fall asleep.

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_"Curiosity. You're going to want to taste it,"_ someone was saying to Jack.

He smiled and leaned closer to her, almost touching her lips. He rubbed his hand through her hair and she smiled up at him.

Amanda couldn't tell who it was, but it wasn't her. She was watching a woman rub herself against Jack.

Her blood bubbled and she had the sudden urge to throw that woman overboard.

"Amanda…Amanda," someone was whispering at her.

"Not now," she mumbled as she reached for the girl.

The person was shaking her now. "Amanda, get up…"

Amanda opened her eyes and saw that Daniel was standing over her. "You were talking in your sleep."

Her arms were still in the air and she let them down with a sigh. "I was having a frustrating dream."

Daniel sat on the edge of her hammock. "What about?"

"Some whore was flirting with Jack," she said with a smirk.

"Haven't you had that dream already?"

"Yeah," Amanda said, running a hand through her riled hair. "It's weird; I feel like it's so real."

"Maybe it's foreshadowing."

"Maybe…" She sat up straight and looked at Daniel. "So, what'd you wake me up for?"

"It's your turn for lookout." She groaned and swung her legs over the hammock. Daniel laughed. "Hey, this is what you wanted." Amanda glared at him, but he put his finger in her face. "You had the choice to stay at Port Royal."

Amanda grinned as she put her slippers on. "And you had the choice to not come with me."

"Well…look how lonely you would be."

"That's true," she said quietly. "I mean it when I say this, Daniel, but I really wouldn't be able to do any of this without you."

He stared at her for a second and then smiled. "I know, Amanda. I know."

The two of them laughed and then walked up the stairs. Gibbs was standing there, holding two ropes. "Your favorite job, you two. Time to hoist the cannons." The two of them groaned, but Gibbs just shoved the ropes into their hands. "Hey, this is the life of piracy." He walked away with a grin on his face.

Daniel looked down at Amanda. "You know…he's right. Let's get to it."

She laughed and followed Daniel over to the cannons. _"I couldn't ask for anything better."_


	2. Searching For Something New

Searching For Something New

It was Amanda's watch and she was over at the side of the ship, staring down at the sapphire water. The sun was very high, since the time was midday, and the crew was scarce on the deck.

"Hello, Miss Margaret."

"Hello, Gibbs," Amanda said, still staring out at the water.

Gibbs leaned against the railing beside her and gazed out at the horizon. He took a deep breath and said, "The sun's mighty blaring today, wouldn't you say, Miss Margaret?"

"Hmmm."

The waves hit the side of the ship and a seagull squawked in the air above.

"Miss Margaret?"

"Hmmm?"

Gibbs hesitated before speaking. "I don't mean to bring any offense to this question at all, miss…but I can't help but asking." Amanda turned towards him. He began to stutter. "What are your…how do you…?"

"Gibbs, don't be nervous. Just go right out and ask me!" Amanda said smiling.

Gibbs nervously smiled back and looked at her. "How long do you reckon Jack and you will act like this?"

Amanda stopped smiling and shook her head. "I don't quite understand."

He scratched his head and searched for different words. "The captain and you are rather close, right?"

"I guess you could say that," she said sheepishly.

"Well, how long do you think this…infatuation will go on for?"

Amanda turned her head back to the water, her cheeks reddening. "Are you nervous about something, Gibbs?" she asked quietly.

He relaxed and leaned back over the railing. "No, miss, it's just…Jack isn't really the type to…"

"I know, Gibbs."

He looked at her. "You do?"

"I know that Jack is…familiar with many different women. I'm very much aware of these notifications."

"And yet you still keep flattering him?"

Amanda looked at him. "Why are you asking me this, Gibbs?" He looked down at his feet. "Do you have something to tell me about Jack?"

"No…no…I really don't have anything to tell you. It's just…I'm nervous for you, Miss Margaret."

Amanda smiled kindly. "Why?"

"I've taken a rather liking to you…so has the rest of the crew. It would be downright heart-breaking to see you disappointed about the…actions of Jack."

"What do you think he's planning on doing?"

Gibbs held up his hands. "There's no predictions in the mind of Jack Sparrow." He looked her in the eye. "That's why I'm nervous for you."

She patted him on the shoulder. "I'll be fine, Gibbs; but thank you for the warning."

"Anything wrong?"

Gibbs and Amanda both turned around and saw that Jack was standing behind them, his hands in his coat pockets and a suspicious frown on his face.

"Nothing at all, cap'n; I was just talking about the weather with Miss Margaret here," Gibbs said nervously.

Amanda nodded in agreement, but Jack still looked down at them with curiosity. "Then…why don't you get me some rum, Gibbs…if you have no immediate appointments."

Gibbs nodded and walked away, leaving Amanda and Jack alone.

Amanda turned back towards the water and Jack leaned against the railing with her. They both stood like that in silence for a moment, just listening to the waves and the ship's sails flapping in the wind.

Jack took a deep breath and said, "Time's gone and past, wouldn't you say, Margie?" Amanda turned her head towards him, but he kept talking. "It seems like only yesterday when you graced me with your presence on the seas, but it had been months since then." He wasn't looking at her, but still staring out at the horizon.

"What's your point, Jack?" Amanda asked shortly.

Jack looked at her and suddenly stepped very close to her, his face inches from hers. She slightly gasped out of surprise, but he remained serious. "Getting seasick yet, love?"

Amanda could feel his hot breath on her face, yet she smiled. "Not at all, Mr. Sparrow."

He got even closer, looking right into her eyes. "You sure?"

His chocolate brown eyes were beating down on her. She had the sudden urge to grab him and kiss him, but she just smiled again and said, "I'm sure."

As quickly as he had approached her, he suddenly snapped back from her. "Good." He turned around, his dreadlocks soaring along his shoulders, and walked up the stairs to the upper deck.

Amanda watched him go, her hands at her side. _"Why does he have to be so frustrating?"_ she asked herself, looking back out at the water. After a second, she slightly turned her head to look at him.

He was staring right at her, his mischievous grin on his face. Amanda's heart melted and she glued her eyes on something else. _"Why does he have to be so gorgeous?"_

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The crew was loud and boisterous. Everyone was crowded together under the ship, eating their dinners. All the men, of course, had some rum, and were cheering and singing together in their rough, scratchy voices. This was a usual dinner for Amanda and the crew.

One of the dark men suddenly bumped into Amanda's bench that she was eating on. "Watch it!" she cried, as his drink suddenly poured on her dress.

He turned, his eyes cloudy with drunk, and stared to laugh. "Sorry, Miss Margaret, I didn't see you there."

She started to wipe the rum with a cloth and frowned. "It's fine," she muttered. "Just stop drinking so much."

The man ignored her and took another swig of his drink. Amanda rolled her eyes and went back to eating her roll.

"What do you expect?" Daniel cried out from beside her. She looked over at him and saw that he was laughing at her. "The men get drunk every night and you _hate _it."

"I don't _hate_ it!" she retorted. Daniel gave her a knowing look and she slightly smiled. "Well, it's just annoying how they act. They're so loud! Listen to ourselves; we're screaming so we can hear one another."

"Jack is drunk every second of the day and you don't mind about that."

Amanda laughed. "That's true." She put down her roll and turned towards him. "Have you ever wondered what Jack would be like sober?"

"Probably boring as hell!"

The two of them laughed. "I can totally imagine that!" Amanda said, going back to eating her roll.

Daniel grabbed Amanda's cup and poured some rum into it. She dropped her roll and cried out. "What are you doing?! I hate rum!" She tried to grab the cup from him, but he just laughed and kept on pouring.

"It's about time I get to see you drunk…I have been waiting for months." He finished pouring and put the drink in her hand. She stared down at it and then looked back up at Daniel. He laughed. "Go on, take a drink of it!"

Amanda looked around at the men around her. Gibbs and Cotton were singing some song about Tortuga and most of the other men were laughing and starting to chime in. _"Very soon, I could be like them." _Then, she looked over at Daniel, who was holding his drink up to his mouth, waiting for her. She smiled and held up her drink. "To freedom!" she cried out, quoting Elizabeth.

Daniel hit her drink with his. "To the Black Pearl!"

The two of them took a large swig.

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"Daniel! Daniel!" Amanda was crying out on the main deck. She was standing alone, swaying back and forth along the wooden planks. No one answered her. "Daniel!" she cried again.

Suddenly, a loud crash was heard from behind her. She turned around and saw that Daniel had knocked over some barrels next to the stairs. He looked down at the mess, a drink in his hand, and started to laugh with Amanda.

"Way to go!" Amanda cried out, tears streaming down her face.

Daniel stumbled over to her and grabbed her hand. "Amanda…shhhh!" He put his finger to his mouth. "You're being really loud!" he cried out.

Amanda just kept on laughing and Daniel joined in.

The crew was still down below, laughing and singing. Amanda hadn't seen Jack at all, figuring that he was just in his study, looking at his compass again. She took this to her advantage and had had cup after cup of rum.

Amanda walked away from Daniel and went to the side of the ship to sit down on one of the barrels. She looked over at her friend and saw that he was still staring confusedly at his hand that Amanda had just been holding. "Pssst…Daniel!" Amanda whispered loudly.

Daniel turned his head and Amanda beckoned him over. He smiled and tripped over to plop down on the barrel next to her. Some of his drink poured over the top of his cup and landed on the deck. "Oh no," he groaned.

Amanda laughed and pointed in his face. "You don't even have to worry about that…because…because…you're already drunk as hell," she slurred.

He smiled and shook his shaggy head of hair. "So are you!"

"No…I'm not! I'm…sober!" She suddenly stood up and lined her feet on one of the planks of wood. "I can do the line test perfectly!"

Daniel burst out in laugher. "There is no line test in the fricken 1700s!"

"Ohhh yeah! But I'm gonna do it anyway!" Amanda put her feet one in front of the other and started to walk. Right as she started, she tripped over her one foot and fell right on her butt. "Owwww!"

Daniel came over, silently laughing, and kneeled beside her. He put his drink on the deck and put his hands on her shoulders. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said grumpily.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Daniel! I'm fine!" she pushed his hands off her shoulders.

He frowned and grabbed his drink. "Fine." He started to stand up, but Amanda grabbed his hand.

"Wait!" Daniel looked down at her. "I'm sorry, Daniel. I'm sorry! Come sit with me." She pulled him down hard and he landed right next to her.

"God, you're so forceful."

"No…no I'm not. I'm…graceful."

Daniel laughed. "Nah!"

Amanda looked at him and suddenly realized how cute he was. The 1700s really suited him. His shaggy hair was nice and ruffled and the sun had really tanned him up. His light eyes smiled at her and she put her hand on his upper arm.

He looked down at her hand. "What are you doing?"

"Flex!"

"What?!"

"I said…flex, Daniel!"

Daniel sighed and Amanda suddenly felt the strength of his muscles against her hand. "Wow!" she cried out.

Daniel smiled sheepishly. "What?"

She took her hand down. "You're like…really strong!"

"Thank you?"

"How did you get so strong?"  
"I only…do stupid crew every second of my life."

Amanda laughed and nodded. "That's true." They smiled at each other for a minute and then Amanda put her head against Daniel's shoulder. She sighed. "Rum makes you tired…doesn't it?"

"I guess so," Daniel said quietly.

"It does. Cause I'm tired."

"Then…it does," he said. Amanda could feel him touching strands of her dark, wavy hair. For a minute, she felt like protesting, but then she realized she didn't mind.

"Daniel?"

"Hmmm?"

"You think Jack likes me?"

He stopped playing with her hair. "Ummm…yeah…I guess."

"Really?" she asked eagerly.

"Well, he only pretty much…kissed you and all that junk."

She snapped her head up and turned towards him. "That doesn't mean he likes me!"

"Why not?" Daniel asked, hoisting his blue jack over his shoulders more.

Amanda put her arm over Daniel's stretched out legs and put her weight on it. "Just because someone kisses me doesn't mean they like me. They have to actually say…'I like you.'" Daniel stared at her. "You know what I mean?" she asked.

"So, you're saying you could just kiss a guy without liking him?"

Amanda laughed. "Of course not! Well, I could. It wouldn't be that big of a deal." She put her hand to her heart. "That doesn't mean I don't like Jack though!"

"I know," Daniel laughed. Amanda liked the sound of his low voice and how he was lightly holding her hand.

"I mean…I could…kiss you for example." Daniel's eyes widened. "It wouldn't be a big deal though…you know?"

"We wouldn't though!" Daniel said loudly.

"I know! I know!" Amanda said, inching closer towards him. "We're best friends; why would we ever kiss?"

Daniel smiled. "That would just be…too weird."

"Yeah…yeah it would," Amanda said quietly.

Daniel stared at the way the dress fitted her thin shape and how her dark hair fanned over her shoulders so nicely. "It wouldn't be…weird forever though, you know?"

Amanda looked at him. "Yeah…"

"Cause…we're best friends, right?"

"Right!" Amanda said excitedly.

"So, we would just forget about it…like the next day."

Amanda paused to think about it. "You're totally right!"

"Yeah!"

"Cause we're friends and we know that it's okay to kiss random people…even if you don't really like them that much."

"Exactly!" Daniel said.

Amanda's hand was now on Daniel's knee and Daniel was now touching the ends of her hair. He stared at her. "You look…like _really _pretty in that dress."

She looked down at her faded pink dress. "Thanks!" She looked back up at him. "I think you look really cute as a 1700 guy."

He smiled. "Really?"

"Yeah, your clothes are really cool… and your hair…" She put her hand up to his hair and smoothly ran through it up to behind his ear.

He stared at her and she suddenly took her hand down. "Yeah," she said. _"What am I doing? This is Daniel I'm flirting with. He's my best friend." _He put his hand on hers again. _"What am I kidding? He looks really good tonight." _He was slightly closer than before. _"It's not a big deal if we kiss; we'll just forget about it tomorrow." _Amanda could feel his breath on her face. _"It's not like it means anything…besides…Gibbs thinks that Jack doesn't like me." _Daniel's nose touched hers. _"Jack doesn't like me…" _

Daniel's lips touched hers. It started awkwardly, because both of them just sat there, but then Daniel pulled Amanda closer and she suddenly felt more desire. The kiss got fiercer and more passionate. She knew it was wrong and he knew it was wrong; both of them did not care at all. Daniel leaned against her and kissed her as hard as he could. He put his hands on her face and felt through her hair. Amanda put her hands around his neck and put herself against him. Finally, after what may have been many minutes, they separated.

They stared at each other for a minute, both breathing heavily and still holding each other.

"This…won't matter…tomorrow morning?" Amanda whispered.

Daniel looked down at her, and looking like he just realized what he was doing, took his hands off of Amanda and sat up straight. "We're…we're _really _drunk."

"Yes, we are," Amanda said, straightening her hair.

They made eye contact and then looked away quickly at something else. Daniel coughed and Amanda still sat, smoothing out her ruffled hair.

"Well, I better…bring this cup back downstairs," Daniel said, holding up his empty mug.

Amanda slightly laughed. "Good idea."

"Yeah…" Daniel trailed off. He took a deep breath and heaved himself off the deck with a stumble. "Well…I'll…" He took a step towards the stairs and then one back. "I'll see ya." He turned around and almost broke into a run down the stairs.

Right as Daniel was out of sight, Amanda groaned and put her head in her upturned hands. "Why? Why the hell did I do that?"

"Who are you talking to?" someone asked from the stairs.

Amanda's head shot up and she saw Anamaria standing by herself, holding a cup in her hand. "Oh! Anamaria!" She frowned at Amanda and walked closer to her. "I was just…asking myself why I drank so much."

Anamaria was standing over her and began to smile. "I was about to ask you the same question." She held her hand down and Amanda took it gratefully.

"Thank you," Amanda mumbled, stumbling over her dress.

Looking down on her, Anamaria still had a knowing smile on her face. "How much did you actually have?"

Amanda held up four fingers and Anamaria whistled. "I'm impressed," she said as Amanda plopped down on one of the barrels. She took the seat next to her. "That's pretty good for your first time."

Amanda stared at her. "_Pretty _good? That had to be at least eight or nine shots!"

"What are shots?"

"Never mind," Amanda said quickly.

Anamaria laughed again and hit Amanda on the shoulder. "You're one strange woman, Margaret…but I like you."

Amanda smiled. "Thank you."

"No problem." She sighed. "It's supposed to be your turn to watch, but I'll take care of it tonight. You go get some sleep." She patted her on the shoulder again. "You're going to have quite a morning tomorrow."

Amanda groaned and lifted herself off the barrel. "Thanks again, Anamaria."

"No problem!"

The crowd was not as big, but a few people remained having their last drinks. Amanda looked around for Jack, but saw that he had not come at all for any rum. She waved at the late night drunks and walked past her hammock towards Jack's study.

Sure enough, the door was closed and Amanda could hear Jack talking to himself inside. She groaned and slowly lifted her hand to knock on the door.

"'Oo is it?" Jack cried.

"It's me," she said, slurring her words.

There was a slight pause as Amanda rocked back and forth with the ship. Jack said, "Enter."

Amanda turned the knob and walked through the doorway, slipping on her shoes again. "Why do I keep doing that?" she asked herself as she stepped into the heavily lit room. She shielded her eyes. "Why's it so bright in here?"

She looked in front of her and saw that Jack was staring at her with a large grin on his face. He put down all his supplies and stood up. "Well well well…look who got drunk with all the gentlemen tonight," he said, walking over to her.

"I am not drunk…I'm sober," she said, pointing to herself.

"If you say so, love." Amanda suddenly collapsed and Jack grabbed her arms. "Whoa! Whoa there, Margie! Looks like you had too much for your first time."

"Do you like me, Jack?" Amanda mumbled into his ear.

"What did you say, love?"

"I said, do you like me?" she said loudly.

Jack stared at her, the smile gone from his face. He hoisted her up so he had a better grip on her arms. "You are _way _too indisposed to be asking questions like that right now. Come on, we better let you waste away into your dreams." Amanda groaned, but Jack laughed. "Don't complain; it's for the better."

He opened the study door and led Amanda through it. Her knees buckled once more and Jack barely grabbed her. "Here, this isn't working." He heaved her up and had her in his arms. "That's better, love, no?"

"Yes," Amanda whispered, resting her head against his chest.

Jack turned to walk to the hammocks, but then instead turned to his own room at the end of the hall. "You need a proper bed for the drinks you had tonight," Jack said, laughing.

They entered the bedroom, where it was nice and dark. "Me likey," Amanda mumbled.

Jack laughed and walked over to his bed. "You ready, love?"

"Yes."

Jack laid her gently on the bed. The soft pillows hit her head and immediately she started to fade into sleep. She could feel Jack taking off her slippers and the small jacket off of her shoulders. "There you go, love. Go to sleep now."

"Thank you," she mumbled, right as she passed out.

"You're welcome," Jack said, smiling down at her snoring self. He got up from the bed, walked to the door, and shut it behind himself.

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Amanda suddenly woke up. Right as her eyes opened, she felt queasiness in her stomach and she groaned in pain. She sat up and put her hands on her stomach to stop herself from puking.

It was still night and the moon was shining directly through Jack's window onto the sheets of the ruffled bed. Amanda looked beside her and saw that Jack was not lying there. "How did I get here?" she asked herself.

She stood up slowly from the bed and felt that same sickness rise up her throat. "Oh God." She ran over to one of Jack's old food bowls and put her face above it. Nothing happened so she took a deep breath and lifted her head.

Suddenly, the same noise that woke her up was heard up on the deck. It was Jack's voice, and he was yelling at the men.

Amanda lifted her head to look up at the ceiling of the room. "What is he yelling about?"

She looked at the chair next to the door where her jacket was lying. She placed it over her shoulders, ran to the bed, put on her slippers, and left Jack's room.

Right as she stepped into the hallway, she saw that none of the men were sleeping in their hammocks. The cloths were flying back and forth with the rocking of the ship and Amanda searched through them for any sign of the crew.

Again, she heard a man cry from above, and her heart began to race. The whole crew was never asked to go up on deck during the middle of the night.

Amanda held up the skirt of her dress as she ascended the stairs to the deck. As she did, she saw there was complete pandemonium going on.

Everyone was running back and forth, raising the highest sails and looking at the navigation compasses. Orders were given from an unseen Jack and Amanda moved through the men, looking for a still one to talk to.

She stopped one in an orange vest who was holding some rope for his partner. "Excuse me?" Amanda asked as she came up to him.

He turned towards her with a flustered look. "Aye, miss?"

"What's going on? Why has the whole crew been asked to work?"

The man shrugged his shoulders. "Captain is distressed about something. He gave us the order to go to land."

"Land?" Amanda asked shocked.

"Aye, miss." His partner called for him and he walked away quickly.

Amanda stood in her spot, at a complete loss for words. Why would Jack need to go to land so unexpectedly? Better yet, what was scaring Jack into getting out of deep waters?

A cool breeze prickled the hairs on the back of her neck and slightly lifted the strands of her hair off her shoulders. She pulled her coat tighter across her arms and watched the black waves hit the side of the ship. This was a sure sign that something terribly wrong was happening on the Black Pearl.

_I really hope some people are reading this! Otherwise, I'm just writing it for nothing. Read my first story before reading this one, otherwise it won't make much sense!_


	3. To Land

_Sorry this took me so long to update. Life is completely hectic and my house was pretty much under construction. Thanks for the patience!_

To Land

Amanda slowly lifted her head to look up at Jack and Gibbs standing close by. Jack was crouched over, holding some rope in his hands. Amanda walked closer and saw that in his eyes was true fear. She felt chills rise up her arms once again.

Gibbs was staring at Jack like he was crazy. As Amanda approached the two men, Gibbs asked Jack, "Which port?"

Jack answered quickly, "I didn't say 'port,' I said, 'land.' Any land."

All of a sudden, Jack the monkey came screeching through the air on one of the sail's ropes, taking Captain Jack's hat off of his head. As the monkey ran off, Jack screamed in surprise and dropped the rope he was holding. _"He's going mad," _Amanda thought, staring at the fevering man.

The monkey climbed some rope ladders a couple feet off the ground and soundly threw Jack's hat into the ocean.

At once, everyone gasped and moved to the edge of the ship, staring down at the floating hat. Even Amanda had come over to gawk at the sight. Gibbs cried, "Jack's hat!" He turned around and started walking towards the center of the ship. "Bring her about!" he ordered to the crew.

Jack stepped forward and cried, "No! Leave it!"

Silence.

Not once, in her entire time with Jack, had Amanda ever seen him without his lucky hat. It was not like him to ever leave his hat behind, even in the most dangerous of situations. The crew stood staring at him in complete shock.

Jack stood there for a moment and finally said bluntly, "Run." He then turned and ran away almost like a child.

For a moment, no one moved, but then finally the crew's senses seemed to return to them and they ran to their posts, ready to make way for land. However, Amanda stayed in her spot, watching the retreating back of Jack with a look of complete awe on her face. Jack had never acted this way before. Sure, he was quite strange, but it was not like him to act so frightened, almost like a little boy.

Gibbs looked at her for a second and they shared a moment of understanding. Jack was going completely crazy. He nodded his head to beckon her to follow after Jack. She nodded and the two of them quickly walked after him.

It was an easy find. Jack had only walked about ten feet. He was standing behind a set of stairs, hidden in the shadows. He was staring straight ahead, his eyes almost bloodshot. His arms were pinned against the wall and it looked like he was trying to disappear.

Gibbs stepped in front of Amanda and walked towards Jack. "Jack?" he asked.

"Shhh," Jack said quietly.

"For the love of mother and child, Jack, what's coming after us?" Gibbs asked desperately, holding onto the side of the staircase.

Jack slowly took his eyes off the staircase and quickly looked at Amanda. She tried to tell him with her eyes that everything was alright; that he could tell her what was wrong. However, he just took his eyes off her and looked at Gibbs. "Nothing," he said, his voice quite higher than it was supposed to be. He then looked away from the two of them and went to his regular staring spot on the stairs.

The single word had such a final tone on it that immediately ended the conversation. Gibbs looked at Amanda, shrugged his shoulders, and went off to help the rest of the crew.

But Amanda stayed. She wanted Jack to trust her; she wanted to be the one that Jack could confide in. But now that she was the only one there, Jack seemed to be even more nervous. He now looked down at his feet and completely avoided eye contact. _"Well, I'm not gonna beg for his attention." _She sighed in frustration and quickly turned to walk back across the deck.

She was walking so quickly that she ran into something quite solid. "Ouch!" she cried out, landing on the moist deck.

The person she had ran into suddenly turned red at the sight of her and awkwardly put his hands in his coat. "Oh, whoa. Sorry, Miss Margaret, you startled me."

It was Daniel. She realized the reason he called her by her fake identity was because they were surrounded by the crew. More importantly, she turned the same shade as him and slowly stood up. "No, you're fine. It was my fault. I was in a hurry to get back down to my hammock." She made sure not to look at his face too much.

Daniel raised his eyebrows and beckoned towards the stairs. "Then, do not let me get in your way."

"Well…th…thank you." She started to walk away, but then suddenly turned back around. "Good night then," she said very quickly, not looking at his face. She turned back around and almost ran to the stairs.

_"Oh my God…oh my God. How embarrassing!"_ She rustled her coat off her shoulders and stuffed it into a ball to hold against her arm. _"He's my best friend! I can't even believe I made out with him. Oh my God!" _Amanda made it to Jack's door. She flew it open and fluttered into the room, throwing off her slippers on the way to the bed. _"What were we thinking?!" _She threw her whole self onto the unmade bed and stuffed her face into the pillow. She suddenly screamed as loud as she could, but only a muffled yell came out.

The boat suddenly gave an obvious jolt and Amanda rolled over onto her back. _"That's us making way for land…wherever the closest bit is." _The crew was still shouting orders and everyone's shoes were clicking on the wood above.

Amanda sighed and rolled on her side, staring at the flickering flame of the candle on her night table. _"I don't want things to be awkward with Daniel and me. The minute we're able to talk…I'm gonna say that we were drunk; it was a mistake; and that things shouldn't be awkward." _She smiled. _"That's a good idea." _Suddenly, Jack's face appeared in her mind and she felt her heart sink. _"And then I can talk to Jack. Make him tell me what's going on. Because of all people…" _ Her eyes started to close. _"…I shouldn't have any secrets kept from me."_ Her eyes closed all together and she fell asleep, the crew still working above.

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_Thud._

Amanda's eyes flew open as the ship suddenly shook violently. She sat up quickly as most of the items on the night table fell on the floor beside the bed. She looked around her and saw that the sun was streaming in from the window and hitting the oak-paned wood on the floor.

"We're nice and safe, Cap'n!" Amanda heard Gibbs cry from up above.

Her heart dropped as she heard the crew start to get off the ship. She flew up from the bed, throwing the covers off her. She ran to the cupboard beside the window and grabbed one of her more casual dresses. It had no petticoat in it so it wasn't as poofy. It was long and light blue and had straight, long-sleeved arms.

Suddenly, she heard Jack's voice as he was walking towards his bedroom. "Gibbs!" he cried. "Grab as many guns as you can; never trust a barren island." The door opened and Jack walked in, closing the door behind him.

"Oh!" Amanda exclaimed.

Jack looked over at her and then suddenly put his hand over his eyes and looked away. "Sorry, love."

Amanda had been halfway through changing into her dress and was looking quite naked in front of Jack. "Its fine," she said, stuffing her arms inside the dress.

"I just wanted to say," Jack said awkwardly, still looking away, "we're at land now and you should only bring what is necessary."

"You can look now," Amanda said smiling.

Jack turned and quickly looked up and down at her. He coughed and walked to the bed, continuing to talk. "The island is unknown…which means it's dangerous. So please bring one of the guns inside the cupboard, love." And with that, he gave her a pained smile, and walked out of the room.

Amanda stared at the closed door, her heart sinking. _"Why is he acting so cold with me?" _She slowly walked to the cupboard doors, opened them, and grabbed one of the pistols lying on top of Jack's clothes.

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The island was large and covered with forested jungles. Every couple minutes, a song of a parrot would erupt, echoing through the trees. It was colorful and tropical, yet Amanda felt a certain uneasiness as she looked up at the high peaks of the island.

"Miss Margaret, you next!" cried one of the crew members below.

She looked down at the man on the beach. He was holding the end of the rope that she was to climb down. She felt a wave of nausea hit her as she looked at how far down the man was. "You got a good hold of it?!" she cried nervously.

The man with the braid smiled. "I've got it; don't be frightened, Miss Margaret."

She took a deep breath and swung her legs over the side of the ship, holding onto the sail's rope. Quickly, she peeked over her shoulder and saw the water hitting the shoes of the man below. Most of the crew was already down there, looking up at her to come down. She saw Daniel staring at her, but with no smile on his face.

She took another deep breath and curled her legs around the rope. The sleeves of her dress were protecting her hands as she loosened the grip of her feet. The rope whistled as she flew down, her hair tossing in the wind.

The man grunted as Amanda toppled into his arms. He picked her up soundly and smiled at her. "There…wa'nt so bad, were it?"

She gave him a short smile and suddenly saw Jack looking at her in the man's arms. Amanda coughed, loosened the grip on the crew member, and smoothed out her dress. "Thank you," she said quietly.

He tapped his hat and walked away, and Amanda looked back at Jack. He had an unreadable expression on his face. Was it jealousy or anger? He tore his gaze away from her and turned to rest of the ship members. "All hands follow me!" his hoarse yell echoed across the beach.

Amanda lifted the soaking bottom of her dress and slightly jogged to keep up with the rest of the men. Like her, they were all exploring the island: looking up at the cliffs, kicking up some sand, and looking into the eerie jungle. It seemed she wasn't the only one that had a bad feeling about the place.

Her heart jumping with surprise, she realized that Daniel was walking a few paces in front of her. _"I've got to do this now,"_ she motivated herself. She took a deep breath, pushed ahead of some men, and bumped her arm against Daniel's. "Hey," she said simply.

Daniel looked at her, clearly embarrassed. He gazed back down at the sand he was kicking. "Hey," she said to the ground.

"Listen," Amanda said quietly, "what happened last night was a mistake." Daniel looked up at her with interest. "We were both _really _drunk…I mean, I still feel sick," she said with a laugh.

He laughed back. "Yeah, me too. I haven't had that much in a long time."

"I bet." They smiled at each other for a minute, but then Amanda's smile faded. "Daniel," she continued seriously, "what I'm trying to say is…we are best friends. That's how it's always been, you know? If it was anything else, it would be _totally _awkward."

"_Yeah _it would," he agreed.

She laughed again. "Last night _was _really fun…but let's never do that again, agreed?" She held out her hand towards him.

He looked down at it for a second, smiled, and took her hand. "Agreed," he said, shaking it.

"Good." Amanda let go of his hand. "Glad that's settled." Again, she saw the back of Jack's dreadlocks and felt her heart sink. "Now all I have to do is settle things with Jack," she said grumpily.

Daniel turned towards her, his eyes wide. "He found out about us?"

Amanda laughed. "No…no…don't worry about that." Daniel sighed a sigh of relief, but Amanda shook her head. "I don't even know what the matter with him is. I bet he wouldn't even care if he found out we made out."

"Don't say that; you know it's not true," he said, giving her a sympathetic look.

"Well, lately, I don't know. Jack just doesn't want to talk to me." She turned towards him with excitement. "Like last night…what was that about? He wouldn't tell me what was going on and he was acting totally weird."

"Yeah, you're right. Jack was weird last night. I wonder what made him want to come here."

"Whatever it is, it can't be good."

Then, like everyone had been waiting for it to happen, the echo of a pounding drum rang through the still air. Birds flew over the tops of the trees and the banging suddenly stopped as fast as it had began.

"What was that?" Amanda asked aloud, looking out into the jungle.

"No idea," Daniel said nervously.

Jack suddenly walked quickly past them to where Gibbs was standing a few paces away. He got close to him and two of them started whispering briskly.

"Jack looks nervous," Daniel whispered.

Jack and Gibbs stopped whispering and split apart. Jack started walking by them again and Amanda suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Amanda," Daniel whispered warningly.

Jack didn't look at Amanda, but at her hand that was holding him back. He almost looked angry at her suddenness, but she was sick of all these secrets. "What is going on?" she hissed. He shook his head and started to walk away again, but Amanda kept her hold on him. "Jack, don't walk away. Why won't you tell me what's going on?"

"I'll explain later, love. Trust me." He firmly pulled his arm out of her grasp and walked in front of the whole crew. "Oi! Up here you mangy wimps!" The men took their eyes off the jungle and looked at Jack in surprise. He smiled and continued to pace back and forth. "Looks like we're not alone…which I'm not all that surprised of. We better…set up camp…underneath the trees over there," he said, uselessly waving his hand behind him.

"And what happens if we get attacked in the middle of the night?" the small man asked Jack.

Jack lifted his finger and opened his mouth, but an Indian man interrupted him. "Jack, why are we here in the first place? If we are in danger, what is the point of staying here?" He pointed at the _Black Pearl_. "We should get back on board!"

A bunch of the men agreed and cried, "Aye!" They began to run back to the ship, but Jack suddenly fired his gun into the air.

Everyone stopped and turned back around, but Gibbs stepped next to Jack. "Cap'n, I don't know if that was wise. Now they know we're here," he said, pointing up at the cliffs.

"They already know," Jack said mysteriously.

Gibbs eyes widened as Jack pocketed his pistol.

"I know all of you don't want to stay here on this island, but there is a reason for our vacation here that I will explain to all of you in good time."

"Why don't you explain now?" an unseen person cried.

Jack rolled his eyes and let his head roll back on his neck. "There's no time to explain!" he suddenly cried. "Just get under the coconut trees and wait for your next direct orders!"

Amanda couldn't help but giggle at how distressed Jack was. He walked to the palm trees like a child and the rest of the crew was forced to follow him.

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It had turned into night. The stars were etched across the sky like a pattern and a shooting star would go fleeting across the pitch black every couple minutes. The crew had started a small fire every couple feet to keep each person warm. Amanda and Daniel were lying next to each other on the sand, frying some crabs they had caught in the flames.

Jack was walking back and forth to each fire, looking over his shoulder into the jungle, like he was expecting someone to appear. Amanda knew that if he really wanted to talk to her, he would ask for her to walk with him. She sat there, waiting for his cue, but he had already walked by her fire three times.

"Stop glaring," Daniel laughed, as Amanda stared at Jack as he walked by for the fourth time.

Amanda threw down her stick. "I can't help it! He told me that he'd inform me of what was going on and now he's clearly ignoring me."

"That's what you think," Daniel said, pointing behind her.

Amanda looked over her shoulder and saw that Jack was walking towards her. When he saw her look, he stopped in his tracks and beckoned her to come to him.

She flew up from where she was laying and dusted the sand off her dress. "Have fun," Daniel said jeeringly.

Amanda stuck her tongue out at him as she walked towards Jack. He was slightly smiling, but still looked awkward as she approached him. "Hi," she said sweetly.

"Hey, love." He pointed at the water. "Care to join me?"

"I'd love to."

The two of them silently walked to the bottom of the waves and let their bare feet touch the freezing cold water. Amanda was staring at Jack, waiting for him to start. She wasn't going to be the first one to say anything.

Finally, Jack took a deep breath and said, "So, you've been wondering why I made us come to land?" Amanda simply smiled and Jack continued, starting to walk along the coast.

"I got a visit the other night from an old friend. And when I mean an old friend, I mean an old _dead _friend of mine." Amanda frowned at him, but Jack waved his hand dismissively. "When I was marooned on that godforsaken spit of land, an event took place after my banishment. Will Turner's father was killed."

"Bootstrap!" Amanda gasped excitedly.

"'ow do you know about that?" Jack asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Well…Will and I were talking about it…before. On the other…adventure." Jack was still looking at her suspiciously, but she said, "Carry on."

"Anyway, Bootstrap was thrown off the _Pearl_ wiv a ball attached to his bootstrap. Didn't want givin' away his precious medallion, see?" Jack said with an evil smile. "So, he was thrown to the bottom of the ocean. But you know what 'appens when the Aztec curse is upon the crew of the _Pearl_, don't ya?"

Amanda said slowly, "He was alive in the ocean."

"Aye. Supposedly, he was crushed by the pressure, not being able to live, not being able to die…yadayadayada."

"What does this have to do with coming to land, Jack?"

"I'm getting there, love, I'm getting there." He held up his hands as he explained. "There is a crew, under the name of an eternally cursed man: Davy Jones."

"Like…Davy Jones' locker?"

"Aye. Davy Jones runs the ship called _The Flying Dutchman. _It carries a shipful of cursed men, eternally bound to Jones' debt. They work for the man, guiding the dead, cleaning the deck. They are bound to him for the rest of their lives." Jack frowned. "Well, they're not really alive. They're bound to him forever," he said quickly.

Amanda was staring ahead. "So, let me be on the same level as you, Jack." She looked up at him. "Bootstrap was taken aboard the _Dutchman_?"

"Aye."

"Okay…so…why did he come to you?"

He took a deep breath. "To give me a warning."

"A warning?"

"From Davy Jones himself."

Amanda's eyes widened. "What was it?" she asked, her heart beating quicker.

"Well, I owe Jones one hundred years of work and labor aboard his ship."

"What?!" Amanda cried, stopping in her tracks.

"Listen, love, listen," he said, putting his hand on her back to walk her forward. "Since I was cap'n of _The Pearl _for thirteen years…" At this he frowned. "Technically…I was on'y cap'n…never mind," he said shaking his head. "Since I was cap'n for that long, I have debt with Jones. And he isn't a man to have debt with."

"So, what's going to happen?" Amanda asked nervously.

"Let's just say, Jones sent his terrible beastie to come out and swallow the whole of _The Pearl _wiv the whole of the crew and me on it."

Amanda gasped. "That's terrible!"

"Aye! So, that's the reason why we came 'ere. If we 'hadn't, 'oo knows how long it would taken the Kraken to eat all of us up?"

"The Kraken?" Amanda asked disgustingly.

Jack looked wide-eyed at her. "You don't want to know, love."

They walked along a little bit more, still in silence, but Amanda's head was rushing with thoughts. She looked over at Jack, and saw that he was also biting his lip in concentration. She smiled and slyly slipped her hand into his.

Jack's head snapped up and he quickly looked at their intertwined hands. He slowly raised his head to look at her face and she smiled at him. He licked his lips nervously and shook his head. "I can't right now, love." He let go of her hand.

Amanda gently took his shoulder and turned him towards her. He avoided her eyes, but she stared at his face. "Why are you so distant from me?"

"Distant?"

"Yes, Jack, distant. I thought everything was fine between us and now you're acting as cold to me as you are to the crew."

"I thought things were fine between us two, love…and then I…" He opened his mouth to say it, but he shook his head. "Never mind."

"'You' what?" Jack tried to walk ahead, but Amanda held onto him. "Please, Jack. Tell me what you're thinking."

He sighed and turned towards her defeated. She looked up at him, pleading with her eyes. Jack opened his mouth and said, "I saw…"

"Ayayayayiiiiiii!"

Amanda screamed as she and Jack flew around. A whole tribe of men were running towards them, weapons out, some even throwing their spears at them. Their face paint was as red as blood and they had a savage look on their faces.

"Run!" Jack cried, grabbing onto Amanda's hand. She was too shocked to do anything else. She held on tightly as Jack pulled her down the beach. Their feet were making splashes against the water and they could hear the echoes of the tribe's feet behind them.

"Jack!" Amanda cried as a spear landed on her left side.

"Keep running!" Jack yelled again.

The tribe was still doing their battle cries and continued to throw their weapons at the couple. Amanda's heart was pounding against her chest and she was beginning to lose her breath. Still, she held onto Jack's hand like it was her life…which it probably was.

Suddenly, a sharp, terrible pain took over her ankle. She cried out and looked down to see a spear had taken off a great deal of skin on her foot. Blood was gushing out of the wound and she began to fall at the sight of it.

"Margie! Come on; keep running, love!"

"Jack…I can't!" They were slowing down; the tribe was almost on them. Cheers and laughter were starting to surround them.

"Come on, love! I'm picking you up." And just like that, Jack swung Amanda over her shoulders like she was the weight of air. He ran as fast as he could with the extra weight. "Does it hurt, Margie? How bad does it hurt?"

Amanda could still feel the blood gushing from her foot. She didn't answer Jack, but looked over his shoulder at the approaching men. She was too out of breath to warn him. One of the men took out a tube of reed, put it to his mouth, and blew it at Jack.

Something whizzed through the air and hit Jack right in the back of the neck. Jack immediately stopped. "Oooh, that doesn't feel right." He put his hand behind his head and took a dart out of his neck. "That's not good." And with that, he fell, both he and Amanda lying on the moist sand.

The tribe gathered around them, smiles on their faces. Their teeth were yellow and rotten and they smelled of herbs and strange spices. Jack was unconscious and Amanda wished she was.

"Please…please…don't kill us. We come in peace…please," Amanda begged, being hit by the waves every couple seconds.

The same man that had hit Jack with the dart smiled evilly at her. The men around him started to laugh. He took out the same tube that he had used to shoot Jack with.

Amanda's heart stopped. "Wait…please! You probably can't understand me, but we did nothing wrong. We just wanted somewhere to stay. We can leave right away if you want."

The man put the tube to his mouth and pointed it at Amanda's shoulder. Panic took over her.

"Please! We didn't do anything!" She tried to sit up, but a man pushed her back down with her foot.

Then, without warning, she felt a slight prick at her shoulder. The world around her started to turn black. The tribe was turning into black blobs and the pain from her ankle slowly melted away. Her eyes closed altogether and she was unconscious.


	4. Captured

Captured

The banging of a drum suddenly rang through Amanda's ears and her eyes shot open. "Jack!" she quietly cried out and she flew up from where she was lying.

Jack was nowhere to be found and as Amanda's eyes started to adjust to the sunlight, she saw that she was in a small, straw hut, lying on a bunch of hand-knit blankets and pillows.

Memories of the night before flooded to Amanda's eyes and she felt her heart stop. "The tribe's people," she whispered to herself. She stood up from the heap of blankets and looked down at herself.

A slight trickle of dried blood was at her shoulder. _"That's where the dart hit me."_ She gently touched it and felt no pain. She sighed with relief and stepped forward to investigate.

Pain suddenly overcame her, shot through her foot, and ran to each nerve of her body. She cried out and immediately sat back down. _"I completely forgot about my foot,"_ she cursed herself.

Looking down at it, Amanda noticed that someone had tried to bandage the wound. It was a very bad job for the cloth of the bandage somehow got caught in the blood of her foot. She cringed as she tried to take some of the cloth out, but suddenly stopped as worse pain overcame her.

_"I'll do that later," _she thought, standing up, balancing on her good foot.

Amanda looked around her and saw that there were tools, pots and pans, and many spears hanging on the wall of the hut. It looked like a small family lived there because there were a couple heaps of blankets in each corner.

"A pai la li sun tun!"

Amanda flew around towards the flap of the hut. As the cry rang out from one of the tribe's men, everyone else had suddenly joined in and the banging of drums started again.

_"I have to find Jack."_

Amanda grabbed one of the thin sheets that had covered her the previous night. She clenched it hard with her hands, ripped a long lining of the sheet, and gently tied it around her foot. She cringed a little bit as the cloth touched her open wound, but she motivated herself to go find Jack.

Limping, Amanda walked to the flap of the hut and peeked through a sliver of the cloth. She could see a large pit for a fire in the center of the tribe's people, but it was not lit. What they were cheering for and banging for, Amanda could not tell.

All of a sudden, the flap was forced back by somebody outside. Amanda cried out and almost fell, but whoever just entered the hut grabbed her hand to keep her balance.

"Jack!" Amanda hissed.

Jack was holding tightly onto her, looking down at her in curiosity. Amanda gave him the same look back for he was looking very odd. Jack had very strange face paint on his face. Human eyes were drawn on his cheeks and even on his eyelids. Amanda reached out her hand to touch his face. "Why do you have this on you?" she asked.

Jack pulled her hand down. "Don't touch it. They need it to be perfect."

"What?" Amanda asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

Jack rolled his eyes impatiently and pointed towards the heap of blankets. "I'll explain over here. Sit down."

As Jack tried to pull her over, he showed no sympathy to her foot. Amanda warningly cried, "Wait!" Jack looked back at her in concern and Amanda pointed to her foot.

"What happened, Margie?" Jack asked, staring down at the already bloodied cloth.

"A spear hit me last night…when we were running." Jack continued to stare at it, but she waved her hand. "Don't worry about it; keep talking."

Jack took the crevice of her arm and walked her over the blankets. Amanda couldn't help but smile at his sweetness as he helped her sit down. He took a seat next to her, nervously looking over his shoulder. "Jack, tell me what happened."

Jack stared at her face, fear etched in every line in his face. He leaned towards Amanda and whispered, "They're planning to kill me, Margie."

Amanda leaned back, her eyes widening at the second. Her heart was beating quickly and she suddenly reached for Jack's hand. "Why you? Why not me?"

"Because I'm chief and ironically…" He laughed bitterly. "…they eat their chief."

A flash of a memory suddenly hit Amanda's mind. She could see Jack telling an elaborate story to two gullible men of the king's navy. The memory seemed so long ago. Her mouth gaped open. "The story you told…"

Jack laughed that bitter laugh of his again. "How ironic, right, love?"

"But…you were making that up," Amanda said slowly.

Jack leaned towards her. "Of course I was, love, but all my made-up stories come from fact-based stories I've 'eard."

"You mean…you knew of an actual island where they eat their chief?"

"Aye. And what are the chances of us landin' 'ere on the island that pirates avoid at all costs?" Jack looked down at his hands in shame, shaking his head. "I should 'ave known."

Amanda shook her head. "Don't feel bad, Jack. There was no way of interpreting this island from the rest of them."

Jack looked up at her with a grin. "I guess you're right, love."

Amanda smiled back at him. She couldn't help but feel grateful that he was acting so warmly towards her again, even if it meant they were in a life-threatening situation.

Jack suddenly stopped smiling and held up his finger. "Shhhh!" Amanda could hear it too. Someone was coming to their hut. Her heart stopped and she felt the blood rush out of her face.

"What are we going to do?" she whispered at him.

"Act normal," Jack said, letting go of her hand.

"What?!" she hissed.

Jack put his finger to his lip to shush her, stood up from her, and crossed his arms.

The flap suddenly opened and as two men entered the hut, Jack began to talk towards Amanda. "I'm chief now! And you are one of _my _prisoners! If you try to escape again, it'll be your head."

Amanda stared at him in confusion, but as Jack turned towards the tribe's men, she noticed that they were looking at him in admiration.

"Oh, hello there," Jack said, walking towards the men. Amanda almost laughed at the fact was Jack was trying to converse with the men when it was clear they spoke in a different language. Not surprisingly, the men started to talk to Jack in their language, pointing at Amanda. Jack also pointed at Amanda and clearly said, "A wungi fi fi li takey yu."

The men nodded and shook their heads in understanding and Amanda's mouth opened in shock. Jack knew the language of these people. How he did, she had no idea.

Jack walked back over to her, facing away from the people and put on his dramatic disposition. Although he looked fierce, Jack's eyes were kind as he looked at her. "Margaret!" he cried out dramatically.

"Jack, why are you screaming at me?" Amanda asked.

Jack discreetly beckoned towards the men with his head and Amanda finally understood. They couldn't understand English, but if they heard what sounded like yelling coming from Jack's mouth, it would seem Jack and Amanda had no alliance. Amanda nodded her head so he could see she understood.

He slightly smiled and then put on a stern face. "Margaret…you are going to be taken away to a cage where the rest of the crew is! Once you're there, I need you to find some way to escape and come save me. If you don't…" He stopped and his eyes flicked to the many tools on the wall.

"We will, Jack," Amanda said, trying to look angry at Jack.

Jack's eyes softened and when he looked back at the tools on the wall, Amanda could see the fear. He then looked back at her and continued to talk. "If worse comes to worse, leave me!" Amanda began to say something, but Jack held up his hand like he was going to hit her. She gasped and fell back a bit. "I wasn't really going to hit you! I just wanted to be convincing. Did they buy it?!" he continued to yell at her.

Amanda looked over Jack's shoulder and saw they were still staring at Jack like loyal dogs. She looked back at his face and tried hard not to smile. "They bought it." Jack swelled with pride, but Amanda continued to talk. "Jack, we can't just leave you."

"Margie…I can't let anything happen to…" He looked down and then looked back at up her. "I can't let anything happen to the crew!" he said in his fake, fierce yell. It sounded so odd to hear these words yelled at her.

"But, Jack…what will happen if…?"

He held up his hand. "Margie…I just want you to know if anything does happen…please tell Gibbs that he has full control of the _Pearl!_"

Amanda's eyes widened and she saw the tribe's men smile. "You can't think that you're not going to escape, do you?" she asked in true fear.

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know!" he yelled. "But you will do as I say, Margie. You will leave this island if anything happens to me. You got that?"

"Jack…"

"Promise me!" Jack screamed. Amanda couldn't help but hear true anger in his last statement, but when she looked at him he mouthed the words "Please, Margie," and his eyes were kind, yet determined.

Amanda sighed and shook her head as she looked down at her hands. She knew it was the only thing that she could do. She looked back up at Jack and said, "I understand," as quietly as she could.

Jack stared at her for a moment, looking like he was going to say something. Instead, he turned from her towards the men and said a very short phrase to them. They immediately came towards her, holding out their scabbed and rotten hands.

Amanda felt fear rise up inside her. "Jack, what are they doing?" she asked, backing away.

The men laughed and stepped closer to her. The instant they touched her, she started to scream. "Let go of me! What are they doing, Jack?!"

"Stay still!" Jack cried out, looking at her struggle. "You'll be safe; they won't hurt you.

The one man grabbed her arms and the other her legs. They were both staring hungrily at her and Amanda locked her eyes on Jack. "What about you?" she asked quietly.

Jack looked down at his feet for a second and then looked back at up her. "I'll be fine, Margie. Hey…" he smiled and held up his hands. "…I'm Captain Jack Sparrow."

"Jack…" Amanda started.

Jack held up his hand with his eyes closed. He then looked at the two men and said, "Pariki."

Their yellow teeth were bared disgustingly as they beamed at Jack. They then began to carry Amanda out of the hut, her still being carried like she was about to be put on a spit. Right as they reached the flap of the hut, Amanda looked back at Jack for the last time.

He had a weak smile on his face, where Amanda could easily read his fear. The thing that really made her wonder was if the fear was for him or was the fear for _her _safety?

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"Miss Margaret!"

The tribe's men had taken Amanda over a fifty foot bridge that stretched over a vast canyon, tread through a rocky brook, and had climbed up a steep, mountainous path. The sight Amanda had seen before her made her mouth gape open.

A group was up ahead, what looked like the crew but was much too small to be all of it, and they were sitting, cowering beside two, giant cages. What amazed Amanda was that the two cages were made out of what looked like human bones. Chills grazed up Amanda's arms as the men carried her up the side of the canyon.

Gibbs had seen them coming from a long ways away and had called out Amanda's "name" right as he had known it was her. He was the only one standing, looking nervous, yet anxious to see Amanda. Amanda smiled bleakly at him as the men passed him with her hanging from their arms.

With a great thud, they dropped Amanda on the ground and she cringed in pain as her foot hit the dirt. Right as the men walked away, Gibbs and a group of other men came over to see her.

Gibbs kneeled down beside her. "Are you all right, "Miss Margaret?" he asked kindly, looking down at her injury.

"I'm fine, Gibbs," she said shortly. She pointed out the cages. "What's going on?"

His eyes grew dark and he drew nearer to speak quieter. "Let's just say, I don't think we're going to be escaping any time soon."

"Why do you say that?"

"These men mean business," Gibbs said with his usual eager voice. "They won't show any mercy to us." He looked deeply at her. "I bet you could tell that though with your foot and everything."

Amanda laughed cruelly. "Yes, I could have guessed that." She looked at the scarceness of the men around her. "Where's the rest of the crew? Are they captured somewhere else?" she asked Gibbs.

Gibbs' eyes widened. "You mean…you don't know, Miss?"

Her heart began to beat heavier. "Know what?" she asked.

"I thought that Jack would have told you," he sighed, looking down at his feet. "I mean, he was there when it all happened."

Amanda leaned towards him. "When _what_ happened?" she urged.

Gibbs looked back up at her. He said slowly, "They killed 'em all."

Amanda gasped. "No!" she whispered. "Daniel!"

Gibbs shook his head. "Don't worry. Daniel's off helping some of the men hunt for food. He'll be back soon."

"And everyone else?" Amanda asked nervously.

"It was unbelievable." His eyes misted over with his horrible memory. "We saw them take you into the hut so we assumed they would attempt to take care of your foot. Jack became furious. He demanded that they bring you back, but they did no such thing. Instead, they divided us up." He held out his hands. "One group…that was us…were told to climb up the mountain path to wait for them." He put down his one hand. "The others…were to stay…and…" Gibbs' voice became strangled and he looked down at his lap.

Unbelievingly, Amanda slowly turned her head to the cages. With a sudden lurch of realization, she swung her head towards Gibbs. "You mean to say…that those…cages…?" she hissed.

Gibbs nodded again with his eyes closed, trying hard not to catch one glimpse of the cages. "We were almost positive they were going to be killed, but there was still that one sliver of hope resting in all of our chests." He shook his head. "Then, of course, here they came…climbing up the path…" Gibbs glared at a tribe's man walking by. "…carrying those cages like they were the banners for their country."

"That's disgusting," Amanda whispered, her hand to her mouth.

"Aye." The odd mist went from Gibbs' eyes and he stared at Amanda. "How was Jack? Did you see him?"

Amanda told Gibbs of the strange conversation Jack had somehow had with the tribe's men. She made sure to mention how he had spoken their language perfectly and how the men seemed to have almost worshipped Jack. Amanda was surprised to see that Gibbs did not look phased by any of this news.

"How are you not curious about all this?" she asked him.

"I knew Jack could speak their language," Gibbs said calmly.

Amanda's searched for words. "How could you…possibly know that?" she stuttered.

"You'd be surprised. Jack knows about…" He looked up in thought. "…thirty two different languages."

Amanda's mouth fell open. "What?"

Gibbs smiled. "Aye. You see…people underestimate pirates. They think that all they know how to do is pillage, steal, and rape."

"Well…isn't it?" Amanda asked as a joke.

"It most certainly is not!" Gibbs said defensively. "We have to know how to sail, man the deck, beat to quarters, sword fight, shoot a gun, and…and…" He struggled for more. "And that is a lot of things to know!" he finished proudly.

Amanda laughed and put her hand on Gibbs' shoulder. "I was just kidding. I know that you guys know a lot." She looked over at the men sitting by the cages. "I just didn't know Jack knew so much," she said quietly.

Gibbs nodded. "Jack knew about this island before we even came here."

"I know. I heard a story about it in the first movie." Gibbs stared at her. "I mean…the first…the first…time I met him." He was still looking at her curiously so she cleared her throat and changed the subject. "So, what do you think they're going to do with us?" he said, nodding her head towards the tribe's men.

Gibbs looked over too. "Oh, something that has to do with us dangling over the canyon in those cages made of our crews' bones," he said conversationally.

Amanda looked at him in shock. "Please tell me that was an over exaggeration."

"I can only hope," he said grimly.

"Well, when are they going to do it? We've been sitting here for a while now. They could've locked me up the moment I got here."

"They're probably waiting for the drums to start," Gibbs said shortly.

"Drums?" Amanda asked, looking at Gibbs.

"Aye, Miss Margaret, drums." He looked up at the top of the cliffs. "Once those drums start, Jack will be made ready to eat. And once they stop…" He made a slicing movement with his finger across his throat.

Amanda's heart stopped. "Well, what are we going to do? We can't just let him die up there."

"What do you suggest we do, Miss Margaret?" He pointed to the now working men. "They are looking after us. The moment we move, they will take out their guns."

She slowly gazed at the top of the cliffs. "I can't just let him die," she said softly. "I told him I'd get help."

"There's nothing we can do." He hastily rested his hand on her shoulder. "Jack will understand, Margaret. He always said to stick to the code." Amanda rolled her eyes and leaned back on her elbows. Gibbs moved closer to her. "What are you doing to do about that foot?"

Amanda looked down at it and saw that it was still bleeding. She felt a wave of anxiety hit her and she tore her eyes away from it. "It'll be fine," she said bravely.

"You don't know that, Miss Margaret. We should ask them for more cloth." He started to raise his hand to gesture the men, but Amanda pulled it down right away.

"Are you mad?" she hissed. "They obviously know about this wound. If they had had the chance to take care of it before they would have. So, obviously, they have no worries over my foot and would rather kill me than help it."

Gibbs backed off her. "I was just trying to help."

She took a breath and leaned back on her elbows. "It's all right, Gibbs. I'm just trying to figure out what's going on inside their heads." Amanda looked back over at the cages. "How long do you think they'll keep us in there?"

Gibbs shrugged his shoulders. "Days…?"

Amanda groaned. "How are we supposed to eat and sleep?"

"Exactly," Gibbs said with a morbid grin. Amanda got on her side and put her hands under her head. "You might want to get some sleep then, Miss Margaret," Gibbs suggested.

"You think so?"

"Aye. Can you really imagine trying to sleep in those?" He laughed shortly.

Amanda followed suit and then turned towards him. "We'll take shifts. Once I'm done sleeping, I'll keep watch."

Gibbs smiled admiringly at her. "Jack's really rubbing off on you, aye?"

Amanda couldn't help but smile. "Why do you say that?"

"You're starting to think…and act…like a pirate." He smiled again. "I'm proud of you."

Amanda rolled her eyes, but giggled as she turned on her other side to face the canyon. "Thank you, Gibbs. Don't let me sleep too long."

"I won't, miss…I won't."

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"Miss Margaret! Miss Margaret…wake up!"

Amanda's eyes flew open and the first thing she saw were the high peaks of the canyon on the other side of the river. She heard Gibbs hissing at her and she sat up quickly to look at him.

He was flushed in the face and he had beads of sweat trickling down his face. "Gibbs, what happened?"  
"There was news of another prisoner coming," he said breathlessly. "I ran down the path to see if it was Jack coming, but it's someone completely different, miss. Someone you would never expect to see again."

"What are you talking about?" Amanda asked, gently grabbing Gibbs' arm.

Gibbs was about to continue to explain, but his voice was shaking and Amanda could see the sweat leaking through his shirt. "Calm down a moment, Gibbs. Catch your breath." He gratefully heaved a great sigh and slowly stood. Amanda helped him up and looked up at him in worry. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, miss. I just am not used to his hot weather."

"Well, let's walk to this tree to get some of the shade," Amanda said, pointing to a tall, palm tree.

The two of them slowly walked over and on the way Amanda noticed that only a few of the tribe's men were standing around the cages, looking over now and then in curiosity.

"So, when is the prisoner going to arrive?" Amanda asked Gibbs.

Gibbs was looking over her shoulder, at the path that she had been carried on. "Sooner than you think.

Amanda turned and squinted at the arriving men.

Who she saw made her eyes widen and her mouth fall. As Amanda fell into Gibbs' arms, the tribe's men carrying the prisoner dropped him in front of the rest of the crew and went off to their usual duties.

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A parrot's song erupted and echoed throughout the canyon. Amanda could hear whispering above her, but she did not want to open her eyes. She felt too tired. The sun was beating on her dark hair and she could feet the beads of sweat on her forehead.

"Why did she faint?" someone whispered above her in a deep, smoothing voice.

A hoarse whisper answered his. "She hasn't seen you in months. She thought she was never going to see you again." The two of them were silent for a moment. "Besides, how in Jesus' mother did you get here?"

The deep voice laughed. "Believe me, it wasn't easy."

A memory suddenly ran through Amanda's eyes. The tribe's men had been carrying a prisoner towards them. A prisoner she had seen before. A man. A man she had gone on an adventure with.

"Will!" Amanda cried out, shooting up from her lying down position.

Gibbs jumped and Will Turner stared at her in shock as she stared back at him. Amanda was looking at the man that she had fought and sailed with. She was looking at the man she thought she would see only in many years to come.

The two of them were kneeling beside her, Will holding a damp cloth. Amanda suddenly started to laugh. At first, Gibbs and Will looked at each other in question. As Amanda continued to laugh however, they caught on and began to imitate her. Amanda finally wrapped her arms around Will's neck.

"How in God's name did you get here?" she asked, still holding onto him.

"It's a long story, Margaret." He gently pulled her away to look at her beaming face. "It's so great to see you."

"And you," she said quietly. They embraced again, all the while Gibbs sitting there, smiling at the two.

Will looked the same as ever. His wavy, dark hair was slightly longer and his skin looked a shade tanner. Amanda imagined that he and Elizabeth had probably gone on plenty of walks together in the sun. His wide, dark eyes were still softened with kindness and his white teeth shone brightly as he smiled at her.

"How is Elizabeth?" Amanda asked politely. She had never quite liked her, but it was always nice to ask.

At that, Will's eyes turned hard and he looked down at his lap. "That's why I'm here actually. Elizabeth has been arrested."

"What?!" both Gibbs and Amanda cried.

"I told you this was a long story."

"What for? Why has Miss Elizabeth been arrested?" Gibbs asked quickly.

"Elizabeth isn't the only one," Will said. "I've been arrested too."

Amanda gasped and Gibbs said in disbelief, "No…"

Will nodded. "Unfortunately…it's true."

"Well…go on then. Tell us what's been happening in Port Royal," Amanda urged Will.

Will sighed and began to explain the strange happenings that were occurring back at home.

_There it is! Next chapter will have them escaping so that's what's going on. Will's back! Yeah!_


	5. Farewell to the Island

_This chapter will have the escape! I hope that whoever is reading this is enjoying it. Thanks for reading!_

Farewell to the Island

Will was finishing up his story, whispering eagerly to Amanda and Gibbs. The two of them stared at Will in shock as he explained the injustice of their arrest.

"And what's this man's name? The one that arrested you?" Gibbs asked.

"Lord Beckett," Will said coldly.

"This is ridiculous," Amanda spoke up. "Lord Beckett is using you just to get to Jack. I can't believe this."

"I know."

"Well, won't he be surprised when you don't bring back Jack's compass," Amanda said with a laugh. She looked up at Will and saw that he was not laughing. Her eyes widened and she leaned towards him. "You mean to tell me that you're planning to give them the compass."

Will shrugged his shoulders. "What else can I do?"

Amanda looked over at Gibbs and saw that he wasn't looking too shocked either. She turned back towards Will. "Maybe you should just explain the situation to Jack. I'm sure he'll understand."

"I already told him!" Will exclaimed. "The second I explained I needed his compass, he ordered his men to bring me here."

"Why would he do that?"

Will shook his head. "I even told him that Elizabeth faces the gallows."

Gibbs's eyes widened. "She does?"

Nodding his head, a saddened look shadowed Will's face. "I came here, hoping to find Jack; all that has happened is that we're all captured, awaiting our death."

There was silence as all three of them let the frightening truth sink into them. Amanda felt a breeze creep up her neck, and she sat in a more comfortable position.

"I'm sorry, Will," she said quietly.

He looked up at her. "For what?"

"For not going to your wedding."

Will's white teeth shone as he slowly smiled. "Don't worry, Margaret. I know how busy you've been." With a harsh laugh he said, "Besides, it wasn't much of a wedding…as you know."

Both Gibbs and Amanda laughed.

All of a sudden, hands grabbed the back of Amanda's hair, and she screamed in alarm. Two other tribesmen grabbed Will and Gibbs, who also cried out.

"What are you doing?! Let go of me!" Amanda cried out angrily.

The man merely ignored her and continued to drag her towards the edge of the cliff. She felt her heat stop as she realized he was planning to push her off.

"No! Please!" she cried out desperately. "I didn't do anything; please don't kill me."

But before the man even reached the edge, he stopped and kept a firm grip on her hair. Amanda looked at his face in confusion, and he smiled evilly and pointed out into the vacant gully of the canyon. Amanda turned and felt her heart jump into her throat.

Somehow, in the time that Will, Gibbs, and she had been talking, the tribesmen had hung the cages of bones from the tops of the cliffs, now allowing them to hang over the vacant gulley of the canyon. Three men for each cage were standing on the edge, waiting for the captors to get inside.

The men laughed at the look on her face and continued to drag Amanda towards the bones. Her heart began to race again, and she looked behind her for Will and Gibbs.

The men holding onto her friends were pushing them towards the closest cage, the one Amanda was being pushed towards. She sighed a sigh of relief as she realized she wasn't going to be alone.

With a forceful shove, the men threw Amanda into the cage. She screamed in pain as her foot collided with one of the begrimed bones. She cursed loudly and looked at the men with an angry stare.

As she began to stand up, Gibbs came flying in after her. His body made a dull noise against the bones and whispered, "Disgusting," to himself. Will soon joined them, along with the small man of the crew, Cotton, and one of the dark men Amanda did not know.

All of them began to stand, but Amanda decided to sit, trying to fix the contents of her wound. She began to worry of infection, but there were other things to be anxious about.

"Miss Margaret, I think you should stand up," Gibbs hissed down to Amanda.

"Why do you say that?"

"It might be easier when they let go of the cage."

"What?!" Amanda cried.

Gibbs didn't answer, but heaved Amanda up by the wrists. He pointed towards the tops of the cliffs, and Amanda followed his gaze.

The tribesmen were hundreds of feet above them, arrantly staring at them with evil smiles on their faces. The crew stared back, dread etched into each line of their faces.

Slowly, Amanda turned her head towards the men holding the cages. As if it was their cue, the men suddenly let go of the boney cages.

With a piercing cry, each and every occupant of the cage began to scream. Their voices echoed through the gulley, along with the prisoners of the other cage. The wind ran through the bones, causing a high-pitched whistle to reverberate off the walls of the cage. The cage kept falling, falling. Amanda held onto Gibbs for dear life, waiting for the descent to stop. She could barely make out the laughs of the men on the cliff. Suddenly, the cage stopped, and the rope that was holding it _twanged_ as if it were a rubber band.

Mostly everyone fell over, and Amanda had to grab on to Will's shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asked immediately, helping Amanda up.

"Yes, I'm fine."

The rest of the crew stood up and looked around at the surroundings. They _ooohed _and _ahhhed_ at the height they were at, but Amanda almost felt sick of just the thought of being so high up.

"Look at the river below, Miss Margaret," Gibbs said, pointing down through the cage.

"I'd rather not," Amanda said slowly.

"How long do you think they'll keep us in here?" Will asked, looking down with Gibbs.

Amanda answered, "Till we rot."

"Don't think like that, Miss Margaret," Gibbs said optimistically. "I'm sure we'll think of something before then."

"How could we possibly get out of this situation?" Amanda asked, holding up her hands.

Gibbs looked around him, almost as if he were seeing the situation for the first time. "Well, maybe you're right."

Amanda laughed and grabbed Gibbs' arm. "No matter what happens, I'm glad that you two are with me," she said quietly, looking both at Gibbs and Will.

They smiled back at her, and the three of them prepared themselves for a prolonged bit of standing.

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_Boom. Boomba boom boom. Boom._

Amanda's head shot up. "What's that?!" she cried, but she already knew the answer.

Gibbs looked wearily at her. "It's the drums for Jack," he responded.

Will cursed. "Why would he do this do us?" He linked his arms through the cage. "If Jack is the chief…" he started.

"Aye, the Pelegostos made Jack their chief," Gibbs chimed in, "but he only remains chief as long as he acts like a chief."

Amanda groaned. "I've heard this already. I believe it's getting worse each time I hear it."

Will looked at her for a moment, but then his gaze fell on Gibbs. "So, he had no choice then? He's a captive then as much as the rest of us."

"Worse…as it turns out." Will's eyebrows creased. Gibbs continued. "See, the Pelegostos believe that Jack is a _God_ in human form, and they intend to do the honor of releasing him from his fleshy prison."

Chills shivered down Amanda's arm, and a breeze tossed her tresses of hair against her shoulders.

Gibbs and Will continued to talk in hushed tones, and Amanda walked over to the other side of the cage. She looked at the other cage, staring at the men who were also waiting for whatever was to come their way. She sighed and allowed her gaze to follow the edges of the cliff. Amanda looked at the different rocks, the different plants, and the different people patrolling the prison. As she was staring at a couple of bushes, a head suddenly popped out from one of the tall, leafy ones that were many feet away from the rest of the tribesmen.

Her head cocked back in surprise, and she blinked a couple of times to get a clearer view. Very abruptly, an entire body pushed itself out of the bush. As Amanda realized who it was, she heaved a breath strikingly.

Daniel was brushing leaves off of himself, crouching low so as not to attract any of the other tribesmen. He looked out at the cage and immediately saw Amanda looking at him. He waved his hand with a proud grin on his face.

Amanda, making sure none of the men were looking at her, began to mouth and make signals towards Daniel. _"How are you out there and not in here?"_ she mouthed, gesturing towards the cage she was in.

Daniel smiled and mouthed back, _"Escaped."_

Amanda beamed, and flew around towards Gibbs and Will. "You guys!" she cried out.

All of the men turned towards her, including her friends who had seemed to be in an intense conversation. She gestured them towards her, and they slowly made their way over.

"What is it?" Will asked, looking out of the cage.

Amanda pointed down towards Daniel. She said, "Look down at that bush over there."

Will and Gibbs eyes' both scanned the cliff face, and at the same time, both widened, and the two men gasped.

Will looked at her, his dark ponytail whipping across his face. "What is he doing down there?"

"He escaped."

The other men had started to gather around them, looking down at Daniel in excitement. Gibbs stood up straight and put his arms up in the air. "What are you doing? You don't want to be attracting attention," he hissed, pushing the men away with his hands.

The men realized their mistake and began to talk in mumbled tones. Amanda turned her head to see if any of the tribesmen had noticed, but they still walked back and forth, patrolling the gulley.

Daniel was still crouched down low, now mouthing to Will and Gibbs. Amanda kneeled beside Will and whispered, "What is he saying?"

Will, his eyes still on Daniel, whispered back, "While he was getting food with the men, he knocked one out with a limb of a tree and ran back here to see if he could help us."

"Well, that's no good." Amanda looked back at Daniel and began to mouth. _"Go to the ship. Get on board and see if you can get help." _She had made her index finger and middle finger appear as if they were feet to show Daniel to walk.

Daniel made a bewildered face and put his hands in the air.

"He can't do that," Will whispered to her. "It's impossible to get the _Pearl_ out into the ocean by yourself."

"Well, what else can he do?"

"Go free Jack?" Gibbs suggested.

Amanda and Will looked at him and pondered on the moment for a second. After a moment's thought, Will shrugged his shoulders and said, "That could work."

"Wait a minute," Amanda interrupted. "What if Daniel gets caught? Then both of them will be killed, and then we'll have no one to free us."

"Then, what else would you suggest him to do?" Will asked angrily.

Amanda's eyebrows flew up. "No need to get cross with me. I'm just trying to think of plans here." Will ignored her and began to gesture towards Daniel again. "Wait, listen," Amanda hissed.

The two men looked at her.

"We might be able to think of a way to get out of here ourselves." They continued to stare at her, and she walked closer to them. "Maybe if we swung ourselves towards those vines against the cliff wall," she whispered, pointing across the gulley, "we might be able to climb up and get ourselves out of the trap."

"That's really good," Will said, "but men are standing up on the cliff up there. What do we do about that?"

Amanda smiled. "That's where Daniel steps in." Will and Gibbs' eyes both widened with excitement. Amanda continued, "All that has to happen is Daniel goes up there; he can knock them out, distract them, anything, just as long as they're not on top of the cliff anymore."

Will and Gibbs looked at each other in thought for a moment. Both of them seemed to have questioning looks in their eyes, but the longer they thought about it, the more their heads started to nod.

"You know, Miss Margaret," Gibbs finally responded, "I think you're really starting to think in the mind of a pirate."

Amanda smiled and went to the edge of the cage to mouth the plan to Daniel.

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The drums of Jack's ceremony were still pounding, along with the hearts of each crew member. Daniel had somehow worked his plan; the tribesmen on the top of the cliff were now gone, along with the usual men that had put them in the cages.

Each and every member of the crew were now rocking the cages back and forth, almost taking up every foot of the gulley with their force. All the men, and Amanda, were screaming as they pushed with all their might to grab onto the vines plastered against the cliff walls.

"Push!" Will cried for the second time as the cages went flying across the canyon.

Everyone flew against the opposite side of the cage and reached out their hands to grab onto some grass.

All the men were flying on top of each other, trying their hardest to escape. As the cage grew close to the opposite side, Amanda reached her arms through the holes of the cages and tried to grab some vine.

With a surge of excitement, Amanda suddenly grabbed some grass. Unfortunately, her excitement left as quickly as it had come. The force of the cage retreating caused all the grass in her hands to tear her away from the cliff wall. All the men groaned in harmony.

"Damn this!" Amanda cursed loudly.

"Come on, Margaret," Will said breathlessly, "only one more; I can feel it."

All of them ran back to the other side of the cage and braced themselves for the perfect moment to run back. Again, as the bones started to make way for the opposite side of the gulley, all the men ran forward, crying cries of effort.

Amanda pushed herself as hard as she could against the bones and reached her arm out as far is it could go. She could feel the strain in her shoulder as she extended her fingers towards the vines.

Suddenly, she felt the smooth, dusty feeling of the cliff vines beneath her hand. "We did it!" she cried out in excitement.

The men held tight, and all of the crew were now grasping onto their last chance of survival.

"Put your legs through. Start to climb!" Gibbs ordered to the men.

Everyone squeezed their bodies together and began to use their feet to ascend up to the top of the cliff. Amanda could feel the sweat on the men's arms and could hear their ragged breathing as they worked hard to escape.

"Come on, men!" Will encouraged. "It'll take all of us to crew the _Black Pearl._"

"Actually, you wouldn't need everyone!" Amanda looked over and saw a dark man from the other cage was crying out to them. "About six would do," he said thoughtfully.

At once, everyone stopped their climbing. Both cages looked at each other, and it seemed that everyone was counting how many men were situated together in each prison. Amanda quickly counted and saw that about six or seven were in the other cage. The men stared back at the cage she was in and scanned at each face.

"Oh, dear," the dark man said faintly.

Will turned his head towards Gibbs, who quickly nodded. Will then looked up at the top of the cliff and yelled out, "Hurry!"

"Come on!" a man yelled from the other cage.

The bones were now moving quickly up the wall of the cliff. Amanda felt the strain of her work in her arms, and she groaned with pain as she tried her hardest to get in front of the other cage.

"Come on!" the small man cried beside her. "Is that all you got?!"

"I'm trying!" she responded exasperatedly.

Will suddenly hissed, "Wait; stop."

"Eh?" Gibbs asked.

Will turned to other cage. "Stop. Shhhh!"

Everyone turned their heads to the left and saw that a tribesman was crossing the wooden bridge across the gulley. There were still mutterings of whispers, and Amanda could feel her heartbeat against her chest as she stared up at the small man.

Amanda gasped as she realized that the other cage was still trying to climb up the cliff. "What are you doing?" she hissed at them.

"Stop!" Will whispered.

The men just beamed at him and continued to climb. Some of them snickered and gave girlish waves. Amanda rolled her eyes and leaned towards Gibbs. "If they do that, we will _all_ be seen," she whispered.

"I know, Miss Margaret."

From the other cage, very abruptly, a man yelled out, "Snake!"

Everyone began to scream, and all the inhabitants of Amanda's cage looked up at the scene.

A red-skinned snake was hanging from the hand of one of the men. He was screaming, along with everyone else in his cage. He let go of the snake and, in panic, everyone else let go of the vines.

"No!" Amanda cried out.

The men went soaring through the air, screaming at the top of their lungs. The rope of their cage got longer and longer and longer. Amanda watched in horror as they were tumbling through the air towards the river below.

With a snap, the rope hanging on the cage separated from the cliff wall. A new chorus of screams rang out from the men as they realized their fate. The cage fell through the canyon as hard as a ton. As the cage got more and more out of sight, the yells of the men began to echo throughout the gulley.

Amanda couldn't look anymore. She turned her head away from the fall and leaned her head against the wall of the cage.

The yells stopped and everyone was silent for a moment. "Move!" Will suddenly cried out.

The men began to yell out cries of angst as they began to make their way to the top again.

The speed was to a new extreme. The men had seen what were to happen if they gave up climbing; everyone was sweating heavily as they strained to make it.

"One more pull!" Will cried out.

Amanda looked up and saw that they were beginning to rise over the surface of the cliff. She laughed weakly and set her feet firm for the last climb.

With the biggest cries of pain of all, all of the crew gathered all their strength to pull themselves over the edge of the cliff. Limbs were shaking, sweat was falling, but with a relived sigh, the cage rolled over on top of the grassy edge.

"Cut it loose!" Will cried. "Find a rock."

Amanda crouched down and searched for a jagged edge of a stone. She ran her fingers through the grass, but could not find a single rock. The men around her were searching with heavy breathing, but it seemed the only luck they had was one jagged rock.

"That'll do!" Will said, grabbing the rock. He began to cut through the binding, but then suddenly stopped when cries of yelling were heard.

Everyone looked up and saw that more than twenty men were running towards them, holding weapons and yelling at them. Amanda's heart dropped and she whispered, "We're doomed."

Will looked down at her but then back up at the tribesmen. "Roll the cage!" he ordered.

Everyone reacted at once. It seemed they were in a human-size hamster ball as they began to push against the side of the cage. It was about as hard as climbing up the cliff. They had to find the perfect places to place their feet as they rolled across the grass. They began to move pretty quickly, however, and it was a lot less hard to push as everyone used all their might.

"Come on!" Gibbs yelled.

Right as he said it, the cage began to tip. Amanda looked down and saw that they were about to zoom down the steepest hill she had ever seen; it was almost vertical.

"Wait! Stop!" she yelled out.

It was too late; they had grown too much momentum. As the shouts of the tribesmen grew quieter, the shouts of the cage grew louder. They lost all control as they rolled down the hill.

Amanda flew into the air and bumped against all the men. She rolled along the cage and tried to grab onto a bone so she would gain some control. With a cry of joy, she grabbed onto a large bone next to Gibbs. She set her feet and in and tried to ignore the dizziness of all the spinning inside her.

Without warning, the cage suddenly flew into the air and everyone was now free falling. Amanda grabbed onto Gibbs, screaming at the top of her lungs. Everyone around her was yelling too.

With a crash, the cage hit the ground. Of what Amanda could see, it seemed that one of the palm trees stopped their rolling. Everyone grunted in pain, and Amanda saw that everyone was lying on top of each other.

Amanda's heart dropped as she heard the cries of the tribesmen behind them. Will heard it too and leapt up from his spot. "Lift the cage! Hurry!"

Everyone stuck their legs through the holes as Gibbs said, "Come on, lads. Lift it like a lady's skirt."

The cage was hoisted into the air and everyone was now running as hard as they could. Amanda looked over her shoulder now and then to see the hungered looks of the tribesmen running towards them. She was forced to ignore the stabbing pain in her foot.

They were sprinting through a jungled area. The grass crunched beneath their feet as all the men encouraged each other to run faster. Amanda did not have the breath to cheer her men on.

Suddenly, the ground left Amanda's feet and, with a scream, the cage was falling again. Rocks were surrounding all sides of the cage and it was getting darker and darker through the descent. Amanda waited for the hard crash that was sure to happen.

Instead of hitting hard ground, the cage landed in water. Amanda was submerged in water, and the cold water stung her flaming skin. She, like everyone else, pushed against the top of the cage, and with a _pop_ it sprung off. The cage broke the surface and everyone gasped for air.

"This way, lads!" Gibbs yelled, pointing at an exit from the cave they had seemed to land in.

Amanda swam beside the crew, moving her numb arms. She almost didn't have the strength to doggy paddle through the three-foot deep water.

As the men swam, arrows began to pelt towards them. Amanda went under the water to avoid the sharp arrow heads. She heard them whizzing past her in the water. Amanda dove deeper to make sure she was safe from the weapons. The men were swimming past her, trying to make cover from the arrows. Cotton swam up next to her and grabbed onto her wrist. With surprising strength, he pulled her through the water towards a narrower passage where the arrows couldn't reach.

As they were underneath the corridor, the two of them broke the surface, again gasping for air. As Amanda took deep breaths, she patted Cotton's arm. He nodded to show he understood.

The rest of the men made their way safely to cover. All of them were now breathing heavily and dripping from their clothes.

Amanda looked up at the gap where the tribesmen were shooting from. A little boy was crying something out in the native language which caused all the men to stop shooting. They stared straight ahead for a moment, and then all left the scene, running as fast as they could.

"What was that?" Amanda whispered.

Will shook his head. "I haven't the slightest idea, but let's get out of here.

"It's time to say farewell to this island," Gibbs said gruffly.

With that, all the men swam from their safety spot and began to make way for the exit, where they were sure the escape would finally take place.


	6. From a Distance

Hello

_Hello! I'm getting back to writing this chapter…I appreciate everyone that's reading this. Thanks!_

From a Distance

The gulley opened up into another cave where light was protruding from the mouth. "The beach!" Amanda shrieked.

Everyone gave out cries of joy, and a new sense of adrenaline spiked up in them. Splashes bounced around the cave as each person's feet ran towards the entrance of the cave.

Amanda was the last to step into sunlight, because her dress was worn down with all the water. Gasping for air, she stared up into the rays of the sun and silently thanked God that she had made it out of there.

"Come on, Margaret!" Will cried, running a couple feet in front of her. "We're almost to the _Pearl!"_

Amanda sighed and began to run again, the water squelching out of her worn slippers.

As all the men and she got closer to the ship, Amanda noticed that it was already beginning to float out to sea. A wave of panic suddenly hit her. "Someone's on our ship," Amanda called out to no particular person.

Will sped up at that and ran into the waves where a man was holding one of the ropes from the ship, calling up to another man on the ship.

As Gibbs reached the man, Amanda suddenly realized who it was. It was Ragetti, and the other man on the boat, she assumed, would be Pintel. _"How in God's name did they get here?"_ She didn't have the energy to ask, so she merely passed by Ragetti in the waves and tried to help Gibbs with whatever could be done.

Gibbs cried out at the foot of the ship, "Excellent! Half of our work is done!"

Ragetti beamed at this. "We've done it for you, knowing you'd be coming back."

Amanda suppressed a laugh at this, knowing the true intentions of these pirate men.

"Or were you hoping we _wouldn't _be coming back?" she asked him, with a smirk.

His scarred face dropped, and ignoring her, continued to pull on the rope.

Gibbs turned around to face the crew. "Make ready to sail, boys!"

Amanda opened her mouth to protest, but Will took the words right out of her mouth. "What about Jack? I won't leave without him."

For a minute, there was a strained silence between Gibbs and Will. Amanda knew exactly what they were thinking: Gibbs didn't want to leave without Jack, but how could he possibly have gotten out of his situation? Will also knew that Jack was probably done for, but he had come to get something from Jack. What it was, Amanda had no idea.

Suddenly, all their thoughts were interrupted by one cry far down the beach: "Oi!"

Amanda's heart leapt, and she turned her head towards the noise, as did everyone else.

Although the distance was about half a mile, Amanda couldn't forget the clumsy run of Jack Sparrow. His arms were up in the air, and his feet almost looked ridiculous as he ran as fast as he could towards the _Black Pearl._

All the crew craned their necks to get a better look of Jack, a look of incredulity on their faces.

Out of nowhere, what must have been the whole tribe of the island people rounded the corner of the canyon and began to chase Jack down the whole of the beach. They were crying out in their native language and carrying pointy spears.

"Time to go," Will calmly stated and ran to get on the ship.

"Cast off those lines!" Gibbs ordered, also climbing up the net ladder up the side of the ship.

Amanda stayed where she was, beginning to get pummeled by each wave. After following the ship farther and farther into the water, she was now up to her waist in the ocean. However, she refused to leave without Jack.

Will looked down from the rope ladder. "Margaret!" She looked up at him with a blank expression. "What are you doing? Come up!"

"I won't leave without Jack," she merely stated and turned her head back to where Jack was running.

"Oi!" he cried out again, realizing they were planning on leaving without him.

Will suddenly grabbed Amanda by the waist. She cried out in surprise. "What are you doing?!"

"We are leaving this island!" And with that, he picked her up and hoisted her over his shoulder.

"Wait! Stop! You do _not _have the right to pick me up; I am a lady!"

Will ignored her and waded towards the rope ladder. Through all of Amanda's complaints, Will managed to get her to cling onto the rope, hoist herself up the side of the ship, and climb over the banister of the _Pearl._

As Amanda plopped down onto her bottom, she glared at Will as he hoisted himself over the railing. He ran his hand through his hair to shake the water out. He caught Amanda glaring at him and asked, "What?"

Amanda shot up from where she was sitting and limped up to him. "Just because you have only been with us for, what, a couple hours, gives you no right to think you're in charge."

Will laughed and shook his head again. "Oh, Margaret, you've gotten quite feisty since the last time I saw you." She let her mouth drop open. "Then again, I always knew there was a fire in you." And with that, he left her on the deck and walked over to where Gibbs was standing.

Amanda got over her moment of shock and looked over the banister for Jack. He was running towards the ship, getting hit by the waves. Amanda smiled at the look of pride on his face.

"Margaret! Help hoist the sailing flags!" one of the crew members shouted.

She left the railing and began to do what she was told. Her arms aching, her foot throbbing, she pulled one of the levers attached to the main sails and started to crank the small, white sails that were connected to the main sails.

The wind billowed inside the sails, and Amanda could feel the ship beginning to speed up.

"Jack!" one of the crew members suddenly cried out.

Amanda looked up from her work and saw the worn-our body of Jack Sparrow climbing over the side of his ship. He was dripping from head to toe, and the tribal paint that had been on his face before was now dripping like multicolor tears from his cheeks.

She slowly walked over to him as Ragetti draped Jack's coat over his shoulders. Gibbs came up and said, "Let's put some distance between us and this island and head out to open sea."

"Yes to the first, yes to the second, but only insofar as we keep to the shallows as much as possible," Jack said. He then caught sight of Ragetti and Pintel, and his eyes widened.

Gibbs sighed. "That seems a bit contradictory, Captain."

Jack looked at him. "I have every faith in you reconciliatory navigational skills, Mr. Gibbs. Now, where's that monkey? I want to shoot something."

And with that, Jack (the monkey) screeched from above their heads and dropped a round something on the deck.

"What is that?" Amanda asked as Pintel bent down to pick it up.

"Me eye." He spit on it and started to clean it off.

Amanda turned away in disgust and saw that Jack was taking out his gun to shoot the monkey. She laughed and held his arm down. He looked at her with bewilderment in his eyes.

"You already know that won't do you any good."

He stared at her for a second, and Amanda felt that feeling of him looking straight through her. Her smile faded, and he seemed to realize what he was doing. Jack took his eyes off her and put his gun away. "It gives me comfort."

She smiled again. "How did you possibly get out of your trap?"

A beam spread across his face. "Many obstacles, illusions, encumbrances, and…fruit."

Amanda stared at him.

All of a sudden, Will came over with a determined look on his face. "Jack, Elizabeth is in danger."

Jack just walked away from him and said, "Have you considered keeping a watchful eye on 'er; just lock 'er up somewhere."

Will followed in angry strides. "She is locked up, bound to hang on helping you!"

The two of them walked up the steps to the upper deck, and Amanda chose not to follow. She had no more energy left. From behind her, someone said her name. She turned around.

"Daniel!"

Amanda threw her arms around her friend, not realizing how injured he was.

"OW! Get off!"

She immediately jumped back. "What's wrong?"

He held open his arms, and Amanda gasped. His shirt was ripped open on the shoulder where she saw a gaping wound that was dripping blood onto his shirt.

"Oh my God! Daniel…what happened?!"

He beckoned her to sit down with him against the side of the ship. He sighed and said, "I was ordered to help them hunt. They were not safe about it at all. I told them to be careful with their spears, but they ignored me. I think they _wanted_ me injured."

Amanda laughed in a cold tone. "Tell me about it." She lifted her foot up for Daniel to see.

"Oh my God! Amanda…" At that moment, a crew member walked by. "I mean," Daniel faltered, "_Margaret_!" he finished in his English accent.

"I know," she winced, softly brushing her fingers against the cloth stuck in the dried blood.

"You need to clean that out."

"Speak for yourself," she said, pointing at his wound.

"What…this?" he asked, tugging at his sleeve. "I can mend this in a second, but Amanda, that could be really dangerous. It could easily get infected."

Amanda bit her lip. "Do you really think so?"

Daniel nodded his head, looking grim.

Amanda sighed. "I'll go ask Jack for some help." She slowly stood up to hold onto the railing. Before she left, she looked down at Daniel. "But you're getting help right after me."

Daniel rolled his eyes and went back to looking at his wound.

Looking at the upper deck, Amanda saw no sign of Jack. _"He must be in his room."_

She walked down the stairs to the lower cabins, with much complication, and walked down the hallway. With a significant lurch, the ship began to turn east. Amanda stopped in the middle of the hallway and tried to listen for orders. All she could hear was, "Upriver! Upriver!" from Gibb's husky voice.

She shrugged her shoulders and made it to Jack's door. Lifting her hand to the oak door, she knocked twice.

"Aye?"

"Jack, it's me."

Silence.

"Jack, do you remember when we were running down the beach…when the spear hit my foot?"

Silence.

She sighed. "I think it's infected."

The door suddenly flew open, and Amanda, who had been resting her arm against it, began to fall. Jack quickly grabbed her arms and held her back up.

She laughed. "Thanks."

He didn't say anything but just looked down at her foot. "You didn't clean it out since the camp?"

Amanda shook her head. "I haven't cleaned it out…period."

Jack looked at the end of the hallway and then back at her. He opened his door wider. "Come in."

Amanda walked in, with a slight pang of annoyance. It wasn't that she wanted to see Jack nervous for her; she wanted to see _any _emotion from him. When he had opened the door, he had looked down at her like she was any other member of the crew. In her mind, she went back to where Jack had mouthed the words; _I love you_, to her from the gallows.

"Well, sit down. I'm no doctor, but as it turns out, I know infections entirely well."

She sat at the foot of his bed, holding her leg up. As she did, her dress slid down her calf, exposing most of her leg. "Woops," she giggled. "Sorry," she said, pulling her dress back down.

Jack reached for the chair at his desk, but not before he eyed Amanda's tan leg. But that was it. He merely ignored it and sat down in the chair before her. Not being very considerate, he grabbed her foot and inspected the cut.

"I hope that the cloth comes out easily." Jack looked up at her. "Will…I mean…will it hurt?" she asked tentatively.

Jack shrugged his shoulders, reaching for a small box on the dresser at the foot of the bed. "It's hard to tell. If it 'urts, you can squeeze me arm as 'ard as you want."

Amanda laughed. "Just remember _you _were the one to suggest it if anything should happen to you."

A flicker of a smile touched Jack's lips, but then he became Doctor, and he began to grab at the bits of cloth in her open cut.

Amanda inhaled sharply as he tugged on a trapped piece. "Sorry bout that, luv," Jack said.

She shook her head. "It's okay; just do it quickly."

He looked up at her. "I might have to do that."

As he took all the bits out, he began to wash out the cut. Amanda watched his dreadlocks fall over his tanned face. She could see a smear of blue across his eyelids where his paint had been. His tongue was pushed against his upper lip in concentration, and Amanda smiled.

"All done! Just got to wrap 'er up."

He took a roll of cloth out of the box, and Jack gently wound the white fabric over and over again across her cut. Finally, he tied a loose knot on top of her foot and patted the bandage. "There it is, luv."

Amanda pulled her foot back and brought her legs together. She rolled herself into a little ball and smiled at Jack over her knees. He smiled at her too, and then did something that surprised Amanda: he reached towards her and brushed a strand of her wavy hair across her shoulders.

She smiled and then leaned forward to press her lips against his. For a second, he seemed to have accepted her kiss, but then he pushed her off. Amanda stared at him, wide-eyed, completely flummoxed. His chocolate brown eyes bore into her, but then he stood up from his chair and began to walk towards the door.

"What's bothering you?" Amanda spoke out, standing up from the bed.

Jack stopped in his tracks but did not turn around. "Bothering me?"

"Yes, bothering you!" she cried out. Her sharp words must have surprised him, because he turned around, his eyes wide in consternation. "First, you brush my hair back like everything is great, and then, when I try to kiss you, you push me off?" Jack stared at her. "What's the matter with us?" she asked quietly.

Jack groaned. "Margaret, do we have to talk now? Things are complicated."

"Yes, things _are _complicated, and I want them to straighten out!" she said, walking up to him.

He rolled his eyes and looked away from her. "This isn't Tortuga, luv, things aren't as easy as they look."

"They were fine months before this." He still didn't look at her. "Jack, please…I want things to go back to how they were before."

"And you think I don't want them back to how they were before?" Jack suddenly said, anger in his voice. "How do you think _I_ feel all about this?"

"I have no idea, because you have never shared your feelings with me!"

Jack snorted. "Captain Jack Sparrow doesn't have to share his feelings with anyone. He chooses who to talk to, who to spend time with…"

"And that person was me for the longest time," Amanda interrupted.

"Margie…" Jack said, holding his hand up. "Pardon me for interrupting what might have been a wonderful confabulation, but I really should be going."

Before he could leave the room, however, Amanda walked in front of him and barricaded the door with her body.

"Please move," Jack said.

"No."

"Margie…"

"I won't move until we discuss what is wrong."

Jack stared down at her with a slightly simpered look in his eyes. He sighed and turned to go sit on the edge of the bed. In a very feminine, mockingly way, he crossed his one leg over the other and waited for her to talk.

She focused on him for a second too before walking towards the bed. There was a moment in which the two of them were silent, unspoken words flying between them. Finally, Amanda opened her mouth.

"You used to trust me."

Jack looked up. "Trust you?"

"Yes, trust me," Amanda said, beginning to pace in front of the bed. "There were times when I could come in this very room, and you would confide _everything _in me. There were times when you told me too much, Jack…I…" She stopped pacing and looked up at him. His face was emotionless. Amanda sighed. "Now you don't tell me anything."

"Margie…"

"Why?"

He hesitated. "I don't think…hmmm…maybe…no…" He struggled with his words, and Amanda noticed he was playing with his hands in his lap.

Amanda could sense that he wasn't going to give her any explanation. He was going to remain emotionless, mysterious, irritating Captain Jack Sparrow.

"Jack," Amanda said.

He looked up at her, and as he did, Amanda knew what he was going to say.

"I don't think we should continue this interrelation between us."

Amanda was silent.

He stood up from the bed and walked towards her. "In the life of piracy, Margie, there are no such things as interrelations…at all." His eyes gazed upwards. "Except for Turner…but that doesn't count, because he's not really a pirate; none of that set forths to our current predicament, so anyway…" He shook his head and looked back down at her. "This has to end. You and I both know it," he said, his voice barely audible.

Amanda couldn't speak. Her eyes were beginning to water, and she didn't understand why. _"I can't let him see me like this."_ She turned away from him and walked to the dresser.

Jack didn't speak for a moment, but when he did, Amanda could hear the uneasiness in his voice. "After our current heading, we can take you back to Port Royal."

It was as if she had been hit across the face with a brick. Her heart sunk so low, and she couldn't believe what she had heard. A tear fell down her cheek.

"I hope you understand, Margie."

His boots thundered against the planks as he walked to the bedroom door. The creak of the door sounded, and Jack took a step to walk out into the hallway.

"No," Amanda suddenly said.

If it hadn't been for the awkward silence between the two of them, Jack may not have heard her, because she said it so quietly. He suddenly stopped in his steps and looked over at her. "What did you say, luv?"

She looked over at him with attempted grit on her face. "You won't drop me off at Port Royal." His eyes widened. "I'm staying on the _Pearl._"

He didn't say anything but looked down at his boots. "Margie…"

"It's Margaret," she said openly. Jack snapped his head up. "It's Margaret," she repeated.

The smallest trace of coldness crept into his eyes. "Fine then…Margaret, whatever floats your boat then…or in your case, your ship. Because that's what you feel the _Pearl_ is, aye? That you belong to the crew?"

"I should hope so. You yourself brought me aboard."

"After you practically begged me to bring you along."

"After which, you mistook me for a whore!"

"Well, can you blame me, luv? You came at me like one!"

"_You told me you loved me!_ _Have you forgotten that?!"_

Without recalling it, Amanda had crossed the room as Jack had done, and now, the two of them were facing each other screaming into each other's faces.

"Oh, Margie, you are sure asking for it! You dare bring up our personal life on _my _ship and expect me not to get angry!"

"_Everyone knows! Everyone knows about us, Jack! And guess what? None of them care! So why do you so much?!"_

"_You think that's the reason? You think that's why I want to end it, Margie?!"_

"_Then for God's sake…why?!"_

Suddenly, the door flew open, and Daniel was at the door, bewilderment immutable on his face. Amanda and Jack each took steps back, both completely breathless.

"Sorry," Daniel muttered, looking down at his feet.

"No, its fine, Daniel," Jack said. "_Margaret_ was just leaving."

Amanda looked up at Jack, her heart beating against her chest. _"Is this hatred that I'm feeling for him?"_ She glared at him and then finally walked past Daniel into the hall.

"What brings you to my dormitories?" Amanda heard Jack ask.

"Sir, I think we've made it to the river."

Amanda turned around in interest to see Jack's face. What she saw was excitement, and what surprised her most, relief.


	7. Denied a Trip

Denied a Trip

Denied a Trip

Amanda did not wait for Jack to pass by her. She felt nothing but contempt and hatred towards him for the moment. She turned back around and, in a huff, made it to her hammock where she plopped down, letting all of her emotions fall into the fabric.

Suddenly, the thundering of Jack's boots on the wooden floorboards came towards her, and the menacing Captain Sparrow entered the room.

_"I won't give him the pleasure of seeing me upset."_ Amanda bent down over the hammock to slip off her slippers. However, it gave _her_ no pleasure to see the wrap job that Jack had just completed for her.

As if it were reflex, Amanda's head snapped up to fix gazes with Jack. His eyes brushed over her foot and then quickly over her face. She couldn't read what was in his eyes. Just as soon as he had looked, he soon passed by her, Daniel following behind.

"It's gotten quite dark, Jack," Daniel informed. "You might want to give the details of the river to the head…"

Jack slowly turned around while holding onto the railing. "I think I know the vocations I must set to each crew member of mine, Daniel." Daniel slightly leaned backwards, clearly taken aback. Jack's eyes once again fell upon Amanda's, but she continued to fuss over her slippers.

"I apologize, Captain. I was just trying to help."

Jack merely smirked at Daniel and then turned back around to go up on deck.

All the other men in the room were looking at Amanda out of the corner of their eyes. She knew in her heart that they had all heard the raised conversation she and Jack had had.

"What was that about?" Daniel had come over and sat down on his hammock which was across from Amanda's. His English accent had been dropped, and he began to take off his shoes.

"Don't feel bad. It's my fault," Amanda muttered in her normal voice. She turned over onto her back. "Let's just say Jack and I aren't going to be having any conversations like that anymore."

"What do you mean?" Daniel asked, leaning towards her.

She gave a huge sigh. "Jack ended it."

Daniel dropped his head and groaned. "You can't be serious."

Amanda gave a grim smile. "I am-but I have to admit that I'm not surprised. I should have seen that coming for weeks now."

"Yeah, things might have been rough between you too, but to end it off _completely_…" Daniel whistled. "That's just a huge amazement."

Amanda turned her head towards him and saw that he had a sympathetic lower on his face. "Are you okay?" he asked unobtrusively.

"Yeah…I'm fine!" she said automatically with a slight laugh. Taking her eyes off him, she looked up at the ceiling. "I mean, I know that I should be really upset right now, but all I feel is complete…_hatred_ for him. I mean-what an asshole, right?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

Silence.

"You cried, didn't you?"

Silence. "…yes."

Daniel sighed. "Amanda, you shouldn't let this upset you. I mean we don't even belong here."

"He wanted to bring us back to Port Royal."

"He did?" Daniel asked in surprise.

Amanda nodded. "I refused, though. We have nothing to do there, so what's the point?"

They both said nothing for a minute, different thoughts running through their minds. Finally, Daniel cleared his throat.

"Amanda…?"

"Hmmm?"

"When do you think we'll go home?"

Amanda looked at Daniel and saw that he was looking at her with fidgety eyes. His hands were clasped together, and he looked nervous for her response.

"You mean Port Royal?" Amanda asked turbid.

"No," Daniel said somewhat impatiently. "I mean back home…where-you know…we were born?"

A memory suddenly flashed through Amanda's eyes. She saw a television with a hole in the center, getting wider and wider. As soon as the image had appeared, it suddenly left her mind, and she was staring into Daniel's eyes.

"You remember it, don't you?" Daniel asked with interest.

Amanda tried to reach for a conclusion in her mind what she had just seen, but she was drawing up a blank. Daniel was staring at her in unsteady air, but she had nothing to tell him. She slowly shook her head, and Daniel's shoulders slightly dropped.

"Why? What do you remember?"

He looked up at her. "I remember that we are not supposed to be here. We're different from everyone else."

Amanda laughed. "No we're not."

"Amanda, are you kidding? Have you forgotten that we fake our British accents in front of everyone? Have you forgotten that I call you Margaret in front of all the crew?"

"Oh, I see," Amanda said slowly.

Daniel nodded at her, his eyes wide. "I just wish I could remember where we're truly from!" he cried out. "It's driving me insane."

She stared at her friend for a second, who did look a little insane at the moment: his hair was tousled from running his fingers through it, his jacket was half off his blouse-like shirt, and his face was red from holding it in his hands.

Amanda leaned towards him and placed her hand on his knee. He looked up with dismal eyes. "Maybe this is how it's supposed to be," she whispered. Daniel's eyes slightly broadened. "Yes, it scares me too that I can't even remember if I had any brothers or sisters, but I know this is where we're supposed to be right now. If it was our time to go home, we would go home."

"But when _are_ we going home? The first movie already ended."

Amanda shrugged her shoulders. "When our fate is decided," she said.

They stared at each other for a moment, and a soft smile graced Daniel's lips. "Maybe you're right. Maybe we're meant to be here."

She leant back, taking her hand off his knee. Daniel started to get a lightened face.

"No, you're right, Amanda. If we were supposed to go home, we would be there right now."

"Yeah," she said encouragingly.

"Yeah!" Daniel said with excitement.

The two of them laughed a good guffaw, letting all of their emotions out in the almost forced breathing. Once they were done, they looked up at each other, the same thoughts running through their head.

"I'm scared to think of what could happen," Amanda said quietly.

Daniel peered at her through his long hair. "What do you mean?"

"I mean…" She sat up to put her legs in her lap. "What if…I don't know…"

"No- no, come on. You can tell me, Manda."

Amanda looked down at her knees for a second, trying to think of what to say. "I just don't want anything to happen to you."

"To me?"

"Of course! Daniel, it would be like…my entire fault if anything happened to you."

"Where did you get that idea?" Daniel asked laughing.

Amanda shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I felt like I risked your life so many times."

"Amanda, I wanted to come here too. Don't forget that. I wanted to be right next to you this entire time."

The ship gave a significant lurch, and all the hammocks swung roughly through the air.

"Whoa!" Amanda cried out, grabbing onto Daniel's arms.

The ship was still moving, but it was obvious that something had changed.

"What was that?" Daniel asked curiously.

"I have no idea."

Suddenly, Jack's cries were heard from above.

"All deck hands! Make infallible that all flanked ropes hanging from the main mast are tied to their secure posts. They won't be any essential items rowing upriver!"

Daniel and Amanda had been around Jack long enough to understand his sailing terms. They looked at each other with bewildered eyes.

"It must be a narrow river to not need the flanked ropes…" Amanda said.

"Yeah, how long is he planning to be going down this river?"

Amanda shrugged her shoulders once more.

Again, the sound of Jack's footsteps started to emerge on the steps. Amanda chose not to turn around in her hammock, but rather stare at Daniel's boots.

"Mission accomplished, Cap'n?" Daniel asked loyally.

Jack's steps stopped as he reached the bottom of the stairs. "So, you choose to ballyhoo with one of your ship mates rather than go up on deck and contribute to your part of changing atmospheres?"

Daniel was so taken aback from the coldness of Jack's tone that he didn't say anything for a moment. Amanda felt his eyes fall on her for a moment. "I'm sorry, Jack. I'll put my jacket back on."

Jack said nothing and walked past them to his bedroom. Daniel watched him retreat and then turned to Amanda with wide eyes. "I told you," she said glumly.

"He really _is _mad."

"I know…I told you."

"You did tell me that, but Jack isn't one to hold grudges-especially if it means keeping order on his ship."

Amanda laughed grimly. "Trust me…I don't think he'll get over this one anytime soon."

"You really think so?"

"Unfortunately…yes."

The both of them sighed and let their shoulders drop from their frightening lurch from before. Amanda was lost in her own thoughts that she didn't even realize that Daniel was staring at her absentmindedly with a worried look on his face. She let him gawk for a minute before she interrupted his thoughts.

"Daniel…Daniel…"

He continued to stare at her.

"Daniel!" she suddenly cried.

Coming out of his trance, Daniel sprang up, and his eyes were no longer glazed over. "Geez! What?! What are you screaming for?"

"Why are you staring at me like that? It's like you just had a revelation."

Again, his eyes started to glaze over. "I think I might have," he said quietly.

"Welllll…are you going to tell me before I lose you again?"

"Hmmm…oh! Oh yeah! Sure!" He got situated and leaned a little closer towards her. "Do you think Jack could be mad about…you know…"

Amanda shook her head with a confused look. "Nope, I actually don't know."

Daniel's cheeks started to turn red, and he couldn't look directly at her. "Come on- you know…" Suddenly, Amanda remembered, and she felt her cheeks turn red. She wanted to interrupt him, but he quickly blurted it out. "…when we made out two nights ago."

"Oh, yeah…that."

"Yeah."

Amanda cleared her throat and tried to tell her cheeks to turn back into their normal color.

"Well?"

Amanda looked up and saw that Daniel was staring expectantly at her. "Well what?"

"Do you think that's why?"

"Oh!" Amanda said taken aback. "No! Of course not!"

"Really? Why are you so sure?"

"Well, one: he doesn't know. Two: he wouldn't care even if he did know. Three: Jack would have said something if it was that."

Daniel seemed a little more convinced. "I guess so," he trailed off. He was looking at one of the hammocks beside them, rocking back and forth with the ship. All of a sudden, he turned to her with sympathetic eyes. "And you're wrong by the way."

"About what?"  
"About number two."

She stared at him for a second, and then a smile spread across her face.

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"Jack! Jack!"

The cries from up on deck caused Amanda to jump up from her lying position. She looked beside her, her eyes slightly adjusting to the light, and saw that Daniel had not woken up from the sudden outburst.

"Jack!" the same person called from up above.

"I'm coming!" Jack yelled back, sounding impatient.

Amanda looked up at the stairs and saw that they were now dowsed in darkness. Daniel and she had been sleeping for a while.

Quickly, she got up from her hammock and started to put on her slippers. The mirror that was set on the night table beside her showed that her hair was slightly crazed from the heat of the night.

"Yikes!" she whispered to herself. She grabbed a hair band from the night table and put her curly hair up into a ponytail. Amanda restlessly pressed the wrinkles out of her dress.

"What are you doing?"

Amanda looked down and saw that Daniel was waking up from his nap. She turned away from him and went back to getting situated.

"I think we've made it to our destination."

Daniel groaned and sat up. "And where would that be?"

Amanda shrugged. "That's why I'm getting ready."

Just at that moment, Jack walked into the room. He stopped when he saw that Daniel was sitting in his hammock. "Didn't you hear the cry from above, Daniel?" he asked crudely.

"Um…yes," Daniel answered nervously.

"Well, don't you think it sounded quite desperate?"

Amanda stared at him, completely blown away by his rudeness.

"Sorry, Jack," Daniel said, getting up from his bed. "I was just about to get ready to go up on deck," he finished in his British accent.

"Good." He stepped on the first step, stopped, turned around, and looked at Amanda. "You might not want to come with us, Margaret."

Amanda stared at him, and she could feel Daniel looking anxiously at her. She ignored him and kept looking at Jack, trying to show him how much she hated him at the moment. "I think I'll be fine; thank you, Jack."

Jack walked a few steps closer, a more authoritative look in his eyes. "I mean it, Margaret. I would…_feel_ more secure if I knew that one of my most trusted advisors stayed on the ship."

Amanda felt anger rise up inside her. She couldn't understand what was going on inside his mind. She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Jack, we have been wondering for days what the next destination would be, and I would really like to be a part of it."

"I understand that, love, but…"

"Don't call me that!"

Silence.

Amanda's chest was rising heavily from her quick breathing. She could feel the shock in Jack's gaze as he glanced down at her tightened fists. At once, she relaxed and tried to take a couple of deep breaths.

There was almost an amused look on Jack's face. After a couple seconds of awkward silence, Jack cleared his throat and said, "Well then…_Margaret…_ I understand that you would like to come along, but I will not allow it. I'm sorry." And with that he turned around and walked up the steps to the deck.

Amanda still stood in her spot, her breathing quicker than usual. Daniel slowly came up to her. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

"What is wrong with him?" she instantly snapped. "He thinks he can just treat me like some useless woman that brings nothing to the table on this ship."

"I know that, Amanda, but…"

"Do you know how much I have done for this ship?" Amanda cried out, pointing at herself.

Daniel looked nervous and slightly backed away. "Um…yes. I do know."

"Good. Because I have done a lot. I have done more than many men on this ship. I can't believe that he has the nerve to order me to stay here when I am absolutely _dying _to know where we are right now."

"Well, I'll tell you all about it once I get back. I'm sure it's nothing special, Amanda."

Amanda snorted. "Yes, I'm sure."

Daniel stared at her for a second. "You can't let him get to you, okay?" She looked up at him and saw that he had true concern in his eyes. "I don't want you to lose your temper at him anymore. Jack has a temper too, and that never goes together too well."

At first, Amanda wanted to give a response back that was quite stubborn, but she realized that Daniel was just saying this for her good. She sighed but did not look at his face. "All right, I won't start any more arguments with him," she mumbled.

With a pat on the back, Daniel slightly laughed. "There's the girl I know and love."

Amanda looked up at Daniel's brown, beaming face, and couldn't help but to smile at his genuine grin.

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Once the two of them walked up on deck, about three rowboats were laying upside down, the men bringing down from their usual posts.

"What's going on?" Amanda asked a random crew member.

He looked at her surprised. "Don't you know, Miss Margaret? You're traveling down the narrower part of the river in those to reach the gypsy's house." He walked away, and Amanda stared at his retreating back.

"Did he just say 'gypsy's house?'" Daniel asked in her ear.

"I think that's exactly what he said."

Amanda then walked to the edge of the ship and peered her head out to see the view. To the left was the vast ocean which they had been traveling in for some time. To the right was a tight river, which twisted and curved through a rainforest-like terrain. Along the river were little huts, each hut holding lighted lamps, giving an eerie glow to the dark river. Dark shapes were huddled on the porches of the huts, and Amanda instantly knew that they were people.

"That's creepy," she said to herself.

"What is?" Daniel asked, looking over the railing himself. Once he saw what was in Amanda's view, his eyes slightly widened, and he pushed himself back off the railing and looked down at Amanda. "How do you think Jack is connected to this place?"

"I wouldn't know, would I? Jack doesn't trust me enough to go," she said rolling her eyes.

Daniel laughed and nudged her arm. "Stop complaining. I just told you that I'll tell you everything about it." Amanda still frowned. "I bet it's just another one of Jack's stupid ideas that has no conclusion in the end. Maybe he's even meeting an old friend or something like that."

Amanda shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, I guess it could be that."

Daniel bobbed her chin up so she met his eyes. "You promised me you wouldn't be a grouch about this," he said quite fatherly.

Amanda sighed. "I know."

Daniel took his hand down. "There. Good girl."

The two of them laughed, but then suddenly stopped when they heard the three rowboats hit the ocean water.

"Daniel, Gibbs, Will! Get in the first rowboat!" Jack's orders came from the steering.

Daniel looked at Amanda one last time. "Temper…."

"I know, I know."

He smiled at her and squeezed her hand before walking with Will and Gibbs to the rope hanging slightly off the boat.

Most of the rest of the crew fit into each of the three boats. Jack climbed down into the last boat with a couple other men. Before he slid down the rope, he quickly looked at Amanda. She couldn't tell what was in his eyes, but she knew it was not anger or resentment. She almost had the urge to smile and wave at him. However, by the time she had thought of it, Jack had gone and was climbing into the rowboat with the rest of the men. Amanda was all alone.

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_"What is my sister's name? What is my sister's name?"_

Amanda was lying in her hammock, her head against the fabric, trying to remember things of what seemed like her past life.

_"My mother's name…? My father's…?"_

She felt a slight ache of emotional pain at the fact that she couldn't remember what her parents looked like. She could feel tears well up in her eyes.

"Miss?"

Amanda looked up and saw that one of the closer crew members of Jack was staring down at her. "Yes?"

"I was just wondering if you would like a spot of rum. I know that you've finished wiv your dinner and everything…."

"Oh, no…I'm fine." She tried to wipe away the tears from her eyes as if she had not been crying in the first place.

Without realizing it, the man had walked closer to her and was staring down at her with a concerned look. "Miss?"

Amanda didn't want to make eye contact with him, but she couldn't see any other way of avoiding talking to him. She looked up and saw that he had much concern in his face. "Are you okay?"

She stared at him a moment, but then looked back down at the book in her lap. "Yes, I'm fine," she said shortly.

All of a sudden, more weight was added to the hammock, and Amanda looked up in shock to see that the man had sat down beside her on the edge of her bed.

"Excuse me…" she started to say.

"Margaret." She instantly stopped when she realized how comfortably he said her name. He didn't put miss in front of it, and he almost looked as casual as Daniel looked when he sat with her. None of the other men were this close to her.

"Yes?"

Amanda couldn't help but notice that the man was exceedingly attractive. He had a very strong face with sharp features. His skin had tanned well with the work on board, and his dark hair had streaks of blonde in it. All of the features on his face gave the most quality to his lips, which were pouty and luscious. His eyes were narrow, yet a piercing blue, and Amanda felt violated as he stared at her.

"What do you want?" she asked, tugging on the end of her ponytail.

He gazed at her for another minute before speaking. When his words came out, they were quiet. "The captain doesn't know what he's doing."

These words were so surprising to Amanda that, for a minute, she was rendered speechless. "Um, you mean…" she stuttered. "You mean, with his mission at this said time?"

"No, I mean with you, Margaret."

Her name again.

Before she could say anything, he continued. "I want you to know that I have always admired you, Margaret." Her eyes started to widen. "As a crew member," he added quickly.

"Oh!" she cried out, much too loud. "Oh," she said quietly, looking around her. She had forgotten that most of the crew was gone.

The man smiled, and Amanda saw that not only were all of the features on his face perfect, his smile was exquisite. She was quite taken by how flirtatious this crew member was.

He seemed quite shy with the brief conversation, and he stood up pretty quickly from the hammock. "Well, I thought I would just inform you of that."

Amanda smiled to see his hands nervously dive into his work pants. "Thank you very much."

The kind man brushed his hair out of his face and turned to walk away. "Wait!" Amanda suddenly called out to him.

"Yes?" he asked, turning around.

Amanda looked into his blue, narrow eyes. "I would like to know the name of the man that has treated me with such civility."

It was as if he had waited for this. His grin was much larger than she could imagine. "The name is Tom. Tom Dudley."

She smiled back. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Tom."

The boat rocked back and forth in the unknown river, reminding Amanda that the winds had changed.

_Woot! Winds of change! Try to update as soon as possible. Thanks for any readers._


	8. A New Point of View

Hey guys

_Hey guys! In this chapter, I kinda hope to bring something in that I didn't think I would bring in. I hope you all enjoyed the brief moment she shared with Tom Dudley in the last chapter. ;)_

**A New Point of View**

Amanda had no idea how long the men had been off the ship, but it seemed like many hours. She tried to let herself go to sleep, but she was dying to hear what they had discussed. Daniel was sure to come in with plenty of fresh news.

It was hard not to notice, but every so often, Amanda had the pleasure of seeing Tom Dudley walking up and down the stairs with some fresh rope or some cannon balls in his arms. She tried not to look at him every time, but it seemed almost impossible not to. Every time she looked down to avoid seeing his piercing eyes, she could feel his gaze upon her. He had a knowing smile on his face whenever they made eye contact.

_"Why have I never noticed him before?" _Again, he walked by, making sure to give Amanda a quick smile. _"He's so attractive- almost as attractive as Jack."_

She kept her eyes on the back of Tom as he walked across the room, not paying attention to the surrounding about her.

"Amanda?!"

She jumped in her spot and turned to the right. "What?!"

Daniel was standing beside her, looking between her and Tom Dudley with a befuddled expression. "Didn't you hear me say your name about five times?"

"Five times?"

He nodded. "Yes, five times." He looked back at the retreating Tom. "Who were you looking at?"

Amanda turned red and sat up straighter in her bed. "No one. Geez, Mr. Nosy."

Daniel began to smirk at her, but she wouldn't allow any questions from him. "Okay, tell me everything," she said eagerly, urging him to sit beside her.

"Oh yeah," he said, his face lit with excitement." He took a seat on Amanda's bed. "You're going to love this."

"Tell me!"

"All right. Calm down!"

More crew members were beginning to make their way down the stairs, getting situated in their hammocks. Thus, Daniel explained the situation to Amanda in a hushed voice.

"All right, so the person we just met- her name is Tia Dalma."

Amanda stared at him. "Tia Dalma?"

Daniel nodded his head with wide eyes.

"What is her significance?" Amanda asked.

"I'm about to tell you." Daniel sighed. "I'm guessing she and Jack used to date, because there was some _weird _vibe going on between them."

"Is she pretty?" Amanda asked quickly.

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Does it matter?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Not really. I'm just curious."

Daniel smiled. "Well, if you must know, no; she's kind of hideous."

Amanda cringed. "And Jack dated her?"

"Amanda!"

"Okay okay…sorry! Continue."

Daniel rolled his eyes and continued his story. "Well, this Tia Dalma lady- she's some kind of gypsy freak. She knows everybody's future and past, and she can totally read your mind. It's kind of creepy. Anyways, she knew Will right when he came in and stuff."

"Whoa!"

"Yeah, I know! It was crazy! So, Jack was explaining how he needed to know how to get to the key, and Tia Dalma asked him about his compass. You know about his compass, right?"

Amanda looked slightly over Daniel's head. "It's…broken…?"

Daniel stared at her. "You don't know the secret of his compass?"

Amanda sighed angrily. "Yes, I don't know the secret of his compass. Can you just tell me?"

"Okay. Jack's compass points to the thing he desires most entirely."

Amanda's eyes widened.

Daniel continued. "Tia Dalma said, 'Why wouldn't you be able to use your compass to find the key, Jack?' And he was all like, 'I desire many things,' or something like that."

"I'm sure he does," Amanda said grumpily.

"Don't start with me."

She waved her hands. "Just keep going."

"All right. Well, she kind of made fun of him for not knowing what he wants and all that junk, but that's not really important. All in all, she told us where the key was." He finished his story, leaning towards Amanda, his face aglow.

"For real?!" Amanda cried.

Some men in the hammocks rolled over to show their annoyance.

"Sorry," Amanda whispered.

Daniel laughed and started talking with a whisper also. "Right now, Jack is taking us to the _Flying Dutchman_."

The wind howled up on deck.

"The _Flying Dutchman_?" Amanda repeated. "What's so special about that place?"

Daniel shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows? All that matters is that that ship holds the key to whatever Jack is trying to find."

Amanda's mouth dropped. "This is getting so intense."

"Yeah, I know."

Steps sounded from up above and started to descend down the stairs. Daniel turned around in Amanda's hammock to get a glimpse of who it was.

Jack was walking down, with a rather gloomy look on his face. As he reached the last step, he looked up to see Amanda and Daniel staring right at him.

"Good night, Captain," Daniel said loyally.

Jack stared right through him to look at Amanda. She wouldn't dare give him the pleasure. She gently pushed Daniel off her bed and began to situate herself to sleep.

She heard his steps leave the room, and she looked up to see his retreating back enter his bedroom at the end of the hall.

"You can't let him get to you," Daniel whispered from his hammock.

She looked at him with a glare. "I can't help it. All I can think of was that I was in his bed two nights ago and now…" She didn't have to finish.

Daniel sighed. "Just don't think about it." He slid under his sheet. "Just close your eyes, and try to think of something else."

Amanda laid her head back against her hammock and closed her eyes. She tried to think of what the significance of this unknown ship could be. The rocking of the ship mixed with the harmony of the men's snoring put Amanda to sleep in a heart beat.

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Daylight peeked through the gap of the stairs and hit Amanda's eyelids. She slowly opened her eyes and saw the blue sky twinkling above. She groaned with morning exhaustion and rolled on her side.

"There's no use. Once you're up, you're up."

Amanda opened her eyes and saw that Tom Dudley was sleeping in the hammock beside her. "Oh my goodness!" she said, pulling back away from him.

He began to laugh, and she soon joined in once she got over her shock. "Forgive me," Tom said, still laughing. "I thought that you would notice I sleep here."

"How long have you been sleeping here?"

His eyes wandered to the ceiling in thought. "Hmmmm, since I first boarded this ship, which would be when Jack hired a bunch of men off of Tortuga."

Amanda's cheeks turned red. "Sorry, I never really…noticed."

He laughed his smooth laugh again. "Don't worry about it, Margaret. I know that you saw different back then."

She looked at him with curious eyes. It was hard to understand this guy. He was so straightforward, yet it didn't bug Amanda as much as she thought it would. _"Maybe it's because he's so good-looking."_

"Now that you sleep here, Margaret, we can catch up." He smiled.

Amanda smiled back with a shy face. She realized that he was staring at her with a not so very innocent face. She stopped smiling and looked up on deck. "I should probably head up there. Jack would want me to start working."

He nodded. "Yes, you're right. You never know what Captain Jack would do if he found out we weren't working as hard as we possibly could."

She laughed gently at that and then stepped out of her hammock. Out of habit, she reached towards the back of her dress to start to undress, but then she realized that she was in front of many men.

"Oh!" she gasped, sliding the shoulder of her dress back on herself.

She looked over her shoulder and saw that Tom was laughing. "Sorry, miss, I couldn't resist laughing."

Amanda frowned at him and grabbed her hair brush off of Daniel's night table. "I forgot all my clothes are in Jack's room," she said quietly.

Tom stopped laughing immediately.

Amanda looked at him. "I'm going to have to go in there, aren't I?"

Tom looked at Jack's door and then back at her. "I assume so, miss."

She sighed angrily and shook her head. "This is going to be slightly awkward."

Tom gently laughed. "Do you need me to go with you for emotional support?"

Amanda looked at him laughing. "No, I think I'll be fine."

Very quickly, she brought down her dark tresses of hair and gently brushed out all of the knots. By the time she was finished, her hair was soft and wavy; she felt confident in going in Jack's room.

Amanda turned to Tom and saw that he was staring at her soft waves. Once he realized she was looking at him, he took his eyes off and cleared his throat. "Well, get in there, miss."

She smiled and walked out of the many hanging hammocks to walk down to Jack's room.

Once Amanda reached his door, her heart was thumping against her chest, and she was clenching her fists against her thighs. There was no sound from inside. _"Maybe he's already up on deck."_

She lifted her hand to the door and gently knocked.

No answer.

Once more, she lifted her hand and knocked a bit louder.

No answer.

With a sigh of relief, she opened the door and saw that Jack was neither in the room nor asleep in his bed. He was already working on deck with the rest of the crew members.

Wanting to leave as soon as possible, Amanda jogged over to the dresser where half of her dresses were. She opened the doors and began to grab them and stuff them into her arms. As the multicolor skirts flew around the dresser, Amanda began to look back on the times Jack bought her these dresses.

Suddenly, her favorite light blue sun dress landed in her arms. This was the last dress that Jack had bought her since their break up. She stared down at it, memories flooding before her eyes.

_"Do you want this one, love?" Jack had asked on a random stop near Tortuga. A man had approached her with about five dresses, and Jack had taken the liberty of buying one for her._

_"Jack, no! That one is much too expensive."_

_"Nothing is too expensive for Captain Jack."_

_"I refuse," Amanda said, crossing her arms. "Pick another one."_

_"But you like this one," Jack said, holding the beautiful dress before her eyes._

_And it was true. When the man selling the dresses held up his property, Amanda's eyes went right to the light blue dress with a beautiful cutout near the cleavage._

_Amanda turned to Jack. "You just like this one because of how it will look on me."_

_Jack gave a devilish smile. "That much is true, love. But I refuse to let this one go." He turned to the man. "We'll take it!"_

_Amanda walked close to Jack and kissed him on the cheek. He looked at her with so much love in his eyes._

"What are ye doin?"

Amanda jumped up from Jack's bed where she had sunk down.

Jack was standing at the door of his room, staring at her with a bewildered face.

"Um…sorry- I had to…um…" She was humiliated by the fact that tears were on her cheeks. Quickly, she brushed them away and tried to explain herself. "I needed to get my dresses. I have no more clothes near the hammocks."

Jack slowly crossed the room to her with no emotions on his face. When he stood before her, he looked down at the dress in her arms. "That's the one I picked out for you," he said quietly.

"You remember?"

His dark eyes bore into hers. "Of course I remember."

The two of them stared at each other for who knows how long. It seemed as if they were trying to read each other's faces. Amanda could still feel the tears in her eyes, yet she didn't care if Jack saw them. She wanted him to know how much he had hurt her.

Suddenly, the door flew open, and Tom Dudley walked into the room. Amanda sprang up from the bed, and Jack walked towards Tom. "Can I help ye, lad?"

Tom looked between the two of them and then pointed towards Amanda. "Miss Margaret and I were going to go on deck together. I saw her come in here, and I was wondering if I could escort her up the stairs."

Jack stood in place for a minute, not saying anything. He slowly turned his head and looked at Amanda. "Well then," he said with a bemused voice. "I'd be happy to see my crew members cavorting together on my ship."

Amanda did not look at Jack as she followed Tom out of the room. Her cheeks were red, and she held onto her dresses for dear life.

As soon as Jack's door closed, Amanda turned on Tom. "What were you thinking?!" she cried.

His eyes were wide. "What do you mean?"

"You humiliated me in front of Jack! I can't believe that you had the nerve to say all of those things." She left him at the door and began to walk towards the stairs.

Tom grabbed onto her hand and swung her around. "What did I say to bring such offense to you, Margaret?"

"You made it seem like we are lovers! And I barely know you. I talked to you for the first time yesterday."

"My whole purpose of declaring what I declared was to make Jack see the faults of his decision."

"Meaning…?"

"Meaning he should not have broken relations with you, Margaret."

She scoffed. "Like you care what I feel," she said in sarcastic tones. Again, she turned to leave, but Tom swung her around again.

"I do. I care very much."

"Oh, please! You barely know me! Why, all of a sudden, are you trying to win my better judgment? Is this flirting? Is this a game to you?"

His blue eyes squinted with desperation. "It can be either."

Amanda's rant stopped. She was breathing very heavily. "What do you mean by that?"

Tom sighed and looked down at his chest. His arms were swinging limply by his side, and he avoided direct eye contact with Amanda. "I've told you, Margaret. I've admired you for a very long time."

She paused. "By admire…you mean- "

"I mean that I have looked your way many times, hoping to see you looking back."

Amanda's eyes widened, but Tom continued.

"I've never had the right bravery to approach you, but from afar, I have peered at your beauty, your intelligence, and your witty tongue. I wouldn't say that I am besotted with love at this point, but I must say that you have bewitched me in a way that no woman ever has."

The two of them stared at each other, Amanda's brow furrowed and Tom's cheeks red as sunset.

Amanda opened her mouth. "I don't understand," she said quietly.

"What?"

She shook her head. "How could I have bewitched you when we had never spoken? I was with Jack at all times."

Tom slightly laughed. "I don't quite understand it either, Margaret. All I am aware of is that the moment I saw you, I have been dreaming of a conversation with you."

Amanda had no idea what to say. Yes, Tom Dudley was attractive and very kind, but she barely talked to him. And now, he was admitting he was practically in love with her. It was all very confusing.

"Listen, Tom," she said, stepping closer to him. "I appreciate the compliments you have bestowed upon me, but-"She looked into his eyes. "I can't make any promises with you."

His face grew weary, and Amanda felt guilt rise up inside her.

"It's not that I don't like you, Tom, it's just that everything has been happening lately: the mission at hand, Jack and I, running away from the Royal Navy…"

"What's that got to do with anything, Margaret?"

She sighed. "Let me highlight the part where I said, 'Jack and I.'"

Tom drew in a breath of understanding. "Oh, I see."

She gave a gentle smile. "Things just ended with us, and I don't want to start anything too soon." Tom looked down at his feet. "Do you understand?" Amanda asked.

Tom nodded his head, still looking at the floor.

Amanda gave a weak smile. "I'm glad."

She turned around to walk to the stairs, but she heard Tom say something. Turning around, she looked at him. "Did you say something?"

Tom was staring at her with his piercing eyes. "I hope this won't ruin our friendship." And he gave her a warm smile.

At his smile, chills rose up Amanda's arms. Trying to hide them, she crossed her arms and smiled at Tom. "Of course not."

Tom slowly walked towards her. "And…we can still sleep next to each other," he said in a suave voice.

"Um…yes, yes." _"Why is my voice shaky?"_

Tom was two steps away from her now and he was smiling such a sexy grin. "Can I tell you something, Margaret?"

She nodded her head so as not to admit she was intimidated by his approaching her.

He was standing right in front of her, his body two inches from hers. His tall frame overpowered her, and he looked down at her with much control. For a second, he just stood there, but then he leaned down towards her ear. "I'm not going to give up," he whispered.

And with that, Tom Dudley walked away from her, towards the stairs. The moment he was out of sight, he looked over his shoulder once more with that grin of his on his face.

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"Where have you been? I need your help steering."

Amanda had come up on deck right after Tom and saw that Daniel was struggling with the wheel.

"What's the big deal?" she asked, taking the steering from him.

Daniel turned to her, using his free hands to put his long hair up in a small ponytail. "There's a storm coming, and the wind is rocking the _Pearl_ like nobody's business."

Amanda laughed. "I'll take care of it for a while."

Daniel sat down on a barrel beside her, but Amanda continued to stare at him. His long hair looked very good on him, no doubt, but it was beginning to go out of control. She liked it much better when it was shaggier and not long enough to go into a ponytail.

Daniel looked over at her and saw her staring. "What? What's wrong? Is there a bug on me?"

She giggled. "No, I was just looking at your hair."

He reached back and touched his ponytail. "What about it?"

"You should get it cut," she said in wonderment.

He gazed at her for a second and then dropped his hand. "Oh yes, Amanda, I forgot. How about I go downstairs and let the barber take care of it?" He rolled his eyes and looked out to sea.

"That's not what I mean! The men on the ship cut their hair by using a knife."

He looked back at her with wide eyes. "A knife?"

She nodded eagerly. "I'd be happy to do it for you."

He laughed. "We'll see, Amanda, we'll see."

Amanda sighed and then looked over the deck. Below on the lower level was Tom Dudley, working on preparing the storm sails. He was pulling and pulling on ropes and his muscles were shown through the shirt. As if he could feel her gaze, he suddenly looked up at her. He gave a smile and then waved. She rolled her eyes, but smiled, as she looked back out on the sea.

"What was that?"

Amanda looked at Daniel and saw that he was looking at her deeply. She quickly turned away from him. "Nothing."

"Yeah, okay," Daniel said mockingly. He then stood up to go help with more of the storm sails.

Amanda tried not to, but every so often, she would look down on deck to stare at a specific crew member.

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It was pouring. The storm was not as raging as most, but the ship was rocking pretty heavily and everybody was soaked through to the skin. Amanda was trying to help most of the men with keeping up the sails, but they all wanted her to go inside.

"Really, Margaret, we don't need your help. Go inside and dry up!"

She didn't want to hear any of it. "I'm part of the crew. I have every right to be out here with you men."

The wind was howling, so they could barely hear each other. "You know what you could do, Margaret?" Daniel yelled at her.

"What?"

"Go turn the hour glass. It's probably about to end."

She sighed and turned around. Turning the hour glass was the baby job. Everybody hated having to keep up with it, but it was vital to know what time it was on a ship such as theirs.

As she walked towards the middle of the ship, she looked up at Jack on the higher deck. He was staring out to see with his compass in his hands. His face was determined and the charcoal was pouring down his face along with the rain drops.

Amanda finally reached the hour glass and saw the last few grains of salt fall into the bottom. She flipped it over and the new hour started.

"This your new job?"

She turned around and saw Tom Dudley standing before her, every part of him wet. "Is your new job to follow me?" she cried to him.

He laughed, and his voice flew up with the wind. "Oh, Margaret, don't start with any of that."

She shook her head and looked out at the waves. "I wish I could do something more…more…"

"Manly?"

Amanda turned to him laughing. "Yes."

The two of them laughed, but Tom stopped first. "Why don't you ask Jack for a personal job?"

"Such as what?"

"Hour glass turner."

She frowned at him. "Very funny."

Suddenly, Jack called up on deck. "Lower the anchor, lads! We've reached our destination!"

Tom touched the small of Amanda's back as they ran over to the side of the ship. She gave a little smile to him in thanks, and he winked at her.

"I don't see anything, Cap'n!" Gibbs called.

"Right there, Gibbs!" Jack pointed far out in the distance and all of the crew squinted their eyes.

In the distance, there was what seemed half of a ship floating. It looked almost destroyed. Will was standing beside Jack, and he turned to him. "That's the _Flying Dutchman?"_

Jack smiled mischievously. "Aye. That's the _Flying Dutchman."_


	9. A Hundred SoulsThree Days

A Hundred Souls…Three Days

**A Hundred Souls…Three Days**

After Jack had assured Will that the destroyed ship in front of him was truly the _Flying Dutchman_, Will stated, "She doesn't look like much," shrugging his shoulders.

Jack walked up to him by the railing. "Neither do you." Will turned his head sharply to Jack. "Don't underestimate her," Jack added quietly.

Tom and Amanda were both staring out at the ship. She didn't know what his thoughts could be, but had no idea how a ship that broken could hold the key to Jack's dreams.

"So, what's your plan, then?" Jack asked Will.

Will looked out at the ship. "I row over, search the ship until I find your bloody key."

"And if there are crewmen?"

Will paused before speaking. "I cut down anyone in my path." And with that, he brushed by Amanda to the rowboat leaning against the side of the _Pearl._

Jack nodded his head in agreement. "I like it. Simple, easy to remember." He too followed after Will to help him into the rowboat.

Amanda still stared out at the ship, something uneasy rising up inside her.

"What's the matter, Margaret?"

She looked up and saw that Tom was staring down at her, concern filling his eyes.

Quickly, Amanda looked back out at the water and shook her head. "Nothing—nothing, I feel fine."

They both didn't speak for a minute. "You don't have to lie to me," Tom said quietly.

Amanda took a deep breath and then looked back up into his rain-soaked face. "I have a bad feeling about this ship. I have a hunch that Will is in danger."

"Danger?" Tom asked bewildered. "What could possibly be on that ship that could harm him?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I haven't a clue; but there is something about this key that makes me uneasy. There is no possible way that Jack is the only man in all of the seven seas that wants that key." Amanda looked back out at the _Dutchman_ and saw that Will was already beginning to row towards it. "Something's dangerous about Jack's mission," she finished quietly.

All of a sudden, Amanda noticed that all the men on the ship were dousing the lamps. She and Tom looked about, completely lost at this new set of orders. She looked up at Jack and saw that he was staring ahead at Will, a very set look on his face.

In a matter of seconds, the _Black Pearl_ was immersed in pitch black, and the entire crew looked completely invisible to the opposite ship. Amanda had a feeling that this was part of Jack's plan.

She left Tom where he was standing and keenly approached Jack. His eyes darted slightly towards her direction and then he looked back out where Will was still rowing.

"Why do you want to be invisible to the _Flying Dutchman_?" she asked, close to Jack's ear so only he could hear.

"Go back to your post, Margaret," Jack ordered.

"I don't have one—as you well know."

At that, he turned to her, anger etching the corners of his eyes. "What do you want?"

"I want to know your plan. If you want that key so badly, why aren't you the one to go out there and get it?"

At that, Gibbs turned to us in interest. As if Jack could feel his gaze, still looking at me he said, "Please leave us, Gibbs."

Gibbs still looked curious as he walked away from the railing and over to where Tom was still standing.

Jack then exhaled slowly. "I'm trying to keep my patience here, Margaret, but you have a way—"

"I have a way of reading your eyes, Jack, and you know that I can do it as well as you can pirate."

Jack shook his head and looked back out at the water.

Amanda pressed herself closer to him, yet he still chose to ignore her. "Are we in danger?" she asked quietly.

He still stared ahead.

"Better yet, is Will in danger out on that ship?"

Jack slowly turned his head to Amanda, his eyes emotionless. "You know, Margie, you've always had a way of hypothesizing on certain matters, but this time…" He looked ahead, and she chose to look with him. Will was now on board, and his boat was floating on the sea beside the shipwreck. "You're going to have to witness the events that I have no way of predicting."

All of a sudden, there was a deafening crash out in the sea ahead of us. Amanda cried out and jumped back in response. It was as if it was a nightmare. It couldn't be real. Beside the _Flying Dutchman_, there rose another ship, breaking out of the water. The waves curled around the ship's front and bounded off of it as it broke the surface. She stared at it in shock, her mouth agape. The large ship was soon floating on the sea, the water of it being submerged still pouring from those little air spaces that every ship has.

At once, the crew began whispering and hissing at this sudden appearance. All of the expressions were the same as Amanda's, except Jack's. She slowly turned her head to him and saw that he was biting his lip, a grim look on his face.

"Jack?" she said, trying to get his attention.

"Hmmm?" He still stared straight at this ghostly ship.

"What is that?" Amanda asked slowly.

"Thaaaaat—would be the _Flying Dutchman_ I believe."

"The _Flying Dutchman_?"

Jack nodded. "Aye."

"But you told me…"

Out of nowhere, Jack turned towards her, his face inches from Amanda's. "I know what I told you, Margaret, but I myself am oblivious to the set motions at this time. I have some things to figure out, so if you would be so kind…" He looked down at his arm.

Without realizing it, out of reflex, Amanda had grabbed Jack's arm when the ship appeared out of nowhere. The whole while they were talking, she had not taken her hand off of his wet arm.

As if it were now poisonous, her hand shot off of him, and she held it against her chest. "Sorry," Amanda said quietly.

Jack gave her a sarcastic smile and then walked past to where Gibbs and many other crew members were standing, talking quickly and loudly.

Amanda still stood in my spot, holding her hand against her chest. So many thoughts were swimming in her mind, and she could not grab hold of any of them. This new ship, Will being in danger, that key, and of course, what Jack was thinking. All of these things were vital for her to understand, yet she had no idea how to answer any of them.

She then decided to walk towards the center of the ship where the rest of the crew was. Daniel was waiting for her, hopping anxiously on the balls of his feet. "Did you see that?" he hissed at Amanda, pointing out at the ship. "That was_ so_ intense." He waited for her response, yet she didn't give one. She was staring into space, looking for confirmations. "What's wrong?" Daniel asked quietly.

Slowly, she turned her head back at the ship. "I feel like we're in danger." Daniel gazed at his friend thoughtfully. "I feel like something bad is going to happen."

"What could possibly happen?"

"Mr. Dudley?" Jack suddenly cried out.

Amanda looked a few feet ahead and saw that Tom responded to Jack's cry.

"Please get me my eye—thingy—see—thing," Jack stuttered, his arms flying around.

Tom's eyes squinted. "Sir?"

"You know," Jack said impatiently. "My telescope thingy." And with that he made the motion of looking far out into sea.

"Ah, I understand, Cap'n." And with that, Tom crossed the deck to where most of the navigational objects were lying. He quickly picked up one of Jack's favorite instruments and then ran back to him where he was waiting peevishly.

"Thank you," he said, swiping it out of Tom's hands. He then put his eye to it, staring at to where Will was very likely in danger.

"He's probably looking for Will," Daniel guessed.

Amanda nodded in agreement. "He wants to see if he's still alive."

Daniel turned to her. "He's still alive, Amanda. Don't worry."

She looked back at Jack who kept taking his "eye—thingy—see—thing" down from his eye and then right back up again. He looked bewildered to what was happening on the ship. All the crew members surrounding him were staring with puzzled expressions.

Jack once more put the instrument to his eye and stared out in distance. As he was looking, the eye that was squeezed tight suddenly shot open in shock. Daniel and Amanda both noticed.

"What the--?" Amanda began to say.

But then, a man, if you could call it that, appeared out of thin air, right in front of Jack's telescope. Everyone gasped in shock. Amanda's limbs immediately became numb.

Daniel and she both backed up, away from this bewitched man, but then slimy arms intertwined around Amanda's waist and a sword was held up against her throat. She screamed out in horror and then realized that Daniel was also in the same position as her; in fact, the whole crew was being held up against all of our wills.

Jack looked around at his captured crew and these inhuman men that held the crew tight and then looked back up at the man in front of him. "Oh," he merely said.

Amanda stared in shock at the "man" in front of Jack. It was as if he were half human and half octopus. The most normal thing about him was his face, which is not saying much. He had two eyes, a fairly large nose, but then right below his chin was a beard of tentacles. It was as if they had a mind of their own. They moved every so often and made a slippery noise each time they changed position.

Below that, he was wearing the same attire as Jack, but once the fabric of his shorts ended, on one leg a giant claw was sitting against the deck. Amanda gasped at the horror of this man's appearance. It was as if he had crawled out of the water…and in a way, he _and _all of his crew had.

Amanda chose to look at the alien crew, but then the octopus man spoke, and she needed to know what he was saying. Her eyes locked on him in interest.

The voice that came from him was unexpected. He had a slight tenor voice, and it seemed that he was down with a slight head cold. All the same, Amanda felt chills rise up her arms as this unknown man stared at Jack with more hatred in his eyes than she had ever seen before.

"You have a debt to pay," he hissed at Jack. He stepped closer and closer to him, his claw thudding against the wooden planks of the ship. "You've been Captain of the _Black Pearl_ for thirteen years. _That _was our agreement."

Jack was soon pushed up against one of the captured crewmen. He still stared at the menacing man in front of him, his eyes wide. He began to cringe as the tentacles of the man came upon him. "Technically, I was only captain for two years, then I was viciously mutinied upon."

"Then you were a poor captain, but a captain nonetheless," he finished cruelly. "Have you not introduced yourself all these years," he circled behind Jack, holding his arms up to his own crew members, "as _Captain_ Jack Sparrow!"

His men laughed gruffly, showing admiration to their captain.

Jack's face twitched slightly and then he turned around to face octopus man. "You have my payment: one soul to serve on your ship." He pointed over his shoulder. "And he's already…"

"One soul is not equal to another," he interrupted.

"Aha!" Jack said triumphantly. "So, we've established my proposal is sound in principle. Now we're just hagging over price."

The man looked at Jack, completely bewildered. "Price?"

At that, Jack drew close to him, his face completely serious. "Just how many souls do you think my soul is worth?"

Amanda stared at Jack, completely shocked. She could not believe that Jack was willing to risk Will's life just to save his own. There was nothing she could say or do, however, as the man was still holding the cold blade against her throat.

The man bit his lip in concentration, and then a cold smile spread across his lips. He leant toward Jack saying, "One hundred souls…three days."

Jack held up his hands. "You're a diamond, mate. Send me back the boy. I'll get started right off." Amanda breathed in relief as Jack started walking towards the side of the ship.

A man with a head like a hammerhead shark stood in front of Jack, stopping him from walking any further. Jack shot back in surprise, and the octopus man spoke. "I keep the boy. A good-faith payment. That leaves you only 99 more to go."

Again, his men laughed along with him, and my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach.

Jack's mouth twitched upward again, and he walked towards the man. "Have you not met Will Turner? He's noble, heroic, a _terrific_ soprano. Worth at least four—maybe three and a half." At this point, a knowing look came over Jack's face, and he leant closer to the creature. "And did I happen to mention—he's in love?"

At once, a change came over the octopus's face. His eyes narrowed and he stared at Jack in interest.

Jack smiled and nodded. "Wiv a girl." He began to circle around the man, still talking casually, but with a knowing smile on his face. "Due to be married. Betrothed." Jack was now at the man's back, and he began talking closely into his ear. "Dividing him from her and her from him would only be half as cruel as actually allowing them to be joined in holy matrimony. Eh?"

For a moment, Amanda thought she saw a different emotion in the man's eyes. What was it? It was not surprise, not regret—it looked like sadness. And once she had thought it, it was perfectly clear that the great, frightening man in front of her had eyes that were filled with mourning.

As quickly as it had started, it finished just as fast. The man turned his head sharply towards Jack and then to all of the crew. "I keep the boy," he announced. "99 souls." His men grinned.

He turned to Jack and looked him in the eye. "But I wonder, Sparrow, can you live with this? Can you condemn an innocent man, a friend, to a lifetime of servitude in _your _name while you roam free?" He leant towards Jack, curiosity filling his eyes.

Jack looked down in thought for a moment and then looked back up with a smile on his face. "Yep. I'm good with it. Shall we seal it in blood? I mean…ink," he stammered, looking down at the man's tentacles.

The man suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Jack's hand. Jack gasped in surprise as the slimy tentacles swam across Jack's palm. "Three days," he said slowly. He snapped his "hand" out of Jack's reach, and turned towards the railing of the ship.

"Three days," my captor hissed into my ear. He slowly took his blade of my throat and I felt a huge pressure come off my chest. All around me, the rest of the crew were being set free, yet the men that had just kept us hostage had somehow disappeared.

I looked ahead at Jack who was staring at his slime-covered hand. "Eh, Mr. Gibbs?" he called out.

"Aye?" Gibbs said, walking up next to Jack.

"I-I feel sullied and unusual."

Gibbs shook his head. "And how do you intend to harvest these 99 souls in three days?"

Jack smiled a grim smile. "Fortunately, he was mum as to the condition in which these souls need be."

Gibbs smiled. "Ah. Tortuga!"

Jack slapped his hand against Gibb's chest and began rubbing the slime against his shirt. "Tortuga," he confirmed.

"Amanda."

I looked beside me and sat that Daniel was staring at me with concerned eyes. "Are you okay?"

I nodded fervently. "Of course I'm fine. Why are you asking?"

He shook his head and looked down at his feet. "I thought—that after what Jack said…I don't know…"

"Oh, you mean how he's willing to let a hundred men die for him instead of risking his own butt to serve for whoever that guy was?" I asked quickly.

"Yes."

I sighed. "I can't believe that he did that to Will. After all they've been through together!"

"What did you expect? Jack loves the sea, but not so much that he would be willing to work with Davy Jones for the rest of eternity."

I turned to him in interest. "Davy Jones?"

"Don't you know about him?"

"That was Davy Jones?!"

Daniel nodded, his eyes wide as he stared at me. "One of the crewmen told me about it."

I pulled him over to a barrel to sit on, watching him eagerly as he began to tell me the legend.

"I don't know too much, so don't be disappointed." He took a deep breath. "Davy Jones and his crew all look like that because they have been cursed for eternity. They roam the sea searching for souls to serve upon the _Flying Dutchman_. Their task is to ferry the dead to the other side…if you catch my drift."

"'Ferry the dead?'"

"You know—if anyone dies at sea, Jones and his men have to bring him to the next part of afterlife."

"Oh, I see. Go on," I urged.

"Well, Davy failed to do as he was asked. He ignored his job to ferry the dead, and he and his men were severely punished."

"That's why they look like that?" I asked grotesquely.

Daniel nodded. "Now, he still chooses to not follow his orders and continues to roam the seas. The reason Jones is so frightening is because of the state of he and his men and the power he has to recruit more men to his service. For each ship that he attacks or brings down, a new set of men come aboard the _Flying Dutchman_."

I shook my head in disbelief. "I can't believe I'm hearing this. I've always thought Davy Jones was a myth."

Daniel shook his head. "I know…so did I."

"There's one thing I don't get though. How is he so good at bringing down ships? I mean, I understand that he and his men are good fighters, but there is just no way he could bring down all of these ships without a single scratch on his vessel."

A cold look came across Daniel's face, and he leant closer to me. "That's because he has outside help," he said quietly.

I felt a slight set of chills graze my arms. "What do you mean?" I asked slowly.

Daniel looked over his shoulder, yet no one was paying any attention to us. Jack had obviously set course for Tortuga. Daniel leant closer to me, his voice much softer. "There's a legend that Davy Jones and his men are helped by the most feared sea creature in all of the oceans: the Kraken."

I remained staring at Daniel, wonderment filling my eyes. "What is it?"

He put his hands together. "It's some type of octopus-squid thing, and it is large enough to bring down an entire ship. It has the ability to sink a vessel without so much as using all of its power." An ugly smile crossed his face. "It's said that it could suck a face off of a man."

"Ew!" I cried out, flinging back from him.

Daniel quickly nodded. "That's why Jack's got to be afraid, right? Don't you think that's why we ran to Tia Dalma?"

"Tia Dalma's that crazy gypsy lady, right?"

Daniel nodded. "The Kraken has got to be bad if Jack is afraid of it."

My eyes widened in agreement, and another thought crossed my mind. "Wait a minute. Who was the person that gave Jones this job? Who ordered him to ferry the dead?"

"Oh!" Daniel said, leaning towards me again. "That's the second part of the story; I forgot to tell you about it."

We put our heads together again as Daniel continued talking quietly.

"Davy Jones, believe it or not, was in love with the heathen sea goddess, Calypso." I frowned at him. "I don't know who she is either, but she's a big deal. Anyway," he sighed, "Calypso was the one who gave Jones the _Flying Dutchman_ to ferry the souls. Why she did—no one quite knows. When she gave him this task, she swore that after ten years they would meet again, and they would spend one day together before he had to return to his job."

"Wow," I breathed.

Daniel held up his finger. "It gets better."

"Jones kept to his duty, ferrying the dead year after year…until the ten years were up. He was so eager to see his love again, not thinking anything bad could happen. However," Daniel stressed, "Calypso was always a capricious woman, which brought Jones to her in the first place, and she failed to show up because of her nature."

"That's awful!" I cried out.

"Feeling sorry for Davy Jones, Amanda?" Daniel teased.

I smiled, rolling my eyes. "Continue."

"Jones wanted to get back at Calypso in a way she would not expect. So, he turned the Pirate Brethren against her."

"'Pirate Brethren?'"

Daniel sighed impatiently. "It's made up of nine pirate lords from all the different seas, and they all meet together to decide matters."

"Ah."

"Anyway, at the First Brethren Court, Davy Jones taught them how to imprison Calypso, and they at once agreed with him. Calypso would be captured into human bonds, meaning she was no longer goddess but merely an average woman."

"After that…this gets a little gross," Daniel warned.

I waved my hand absently. "I don't care."  
"All right." Daniel exhaled. "After that, Jones decided to rip out his heart and place it into a chest. He then proceeded to put _that _chest into a larger chest among his many love letters he had written to Calypso. Are you okay?"

I had quite a disgusted look on my face, and it was a lighter shade. "I'm all right; just ignore me."

Daniel slightly laughed. "Anyways, Jones buried the chest on an island, and he walked off, planning to never go back to see the thing that had failed him on the seas: his heart."

"Wow," I whispered after Daniel had finished his story. "You really don't know a lot," I said sarcastically.

Daniel rolled his eyes, laughing. "Well, there are still a lot of things that are unsaid."

"Like what?"  
He started counting off his fingers. "Well…1. Jack obviously is searching for this chest, but why does he want it? 2. Where _is _this chest? 3. Since Calypso is a woman now, where is she and who could she be? 4. What is the key to controlling the Kraken? See," he said, putting down his fingers, "there's still a lot to be answered."

Amanda grinned. "I guess you're right." She looked over the railing of the ship and saw that the _Flying Dutchman _was no longer in sight.

"He'll be fine," Daniel said, seeing the nervous look on Amanda's face. "Will always has a way of getting out of trouble."

"I know that, but this is different," Amanda said, turning back to Daniel. "Davy Jones is a determined man, and I'm sure he's going to do everything so as Will stays on that ship."

"Jack won't abandon him; you'll see."

"I don't know that," Amanda whispered.

"Margaret."

Amanda looked up and saw that Tom Dudley was standing in front of them, looking down with a smile on his face.

"Yes?" Amanda said quite coldly, putting on her English accent.

Tom merely smiled and held up his hand which contained a wet cloth. "I saw that your captor nicked your neck a little bit as he left, and I wanted to clean it up before anything got to it."

Amanda reached up to her neck, and of course, felt a sticky cut against the side of her throat. "Figures," she groaned.

"If I may," Tom said, crouching beside her.

Amanda quickly looked over at Daniel, but he had vanished. She cursed him inwardly for leaving her alone with this man.

"Go ahead," she said hurriedly

Tom smiled a half smile and pressed the cloth up against her neck. Amanda cringed but did not make a sound. "Are you all right?" Tom asked quietly.

"Yes, I'm fine," Amanda answered.

The two of them did not speak, but there was no need. Tom was pressing the cloth gently along her cut, moving strands of her hair back every so often. As his fingers traced along the hollow of her neck, she couldn't help the sudden chills that would spring up along his touch. She kept an impassive look upon her face, but every so often, her heart would pound against her chest as she smiled that crooked smile at her. His breath was against her face, yet it wasn't uncomfortable. Amanda felt quite calm against Tom's touch, and she didn't feel the need to separate herself from him.

All too soon, Tom was done. He stood up from her and smiled again. "Take care of yourself, Margaret."

And with that he walked away, a proud step in his walk.

_I hoped you liked this chapter. I know a lot of it was dialogue from the movie, but I had to put a lot of information in this chapter in case some people don't know about Dead Man's Chest that well. Keep reading! It's going to get better and better._


	10. To Tortuga

Hey readers

_Hey readers! This chapter involves a little bit of Tom/Amanda and a little bit of Tortuga. Just keep on reading, and you'll see what's coming up for Amanda and Daniel._

**To Tortuga**

Amanda walked down the stairs to her hammock. She had not done too much on deck, but she still felt the exhaustion in her eyelids as she saw her swinging bed before her. Daniel was still up on deck, doing whatever work Jack had ordered him to do. Amanda was silently grateful, because she wasn't feeling up to talking all night.

"Tired, Margaret?"  
Amanda looked up from her feet and saw that Tom Dudley was lying in his hammock, right beside the bed Amanda was about to climb into.

She sighed and felt her shoulders weigh down. "Yes, I am. So I am planning on sleeping very heavily," she said shortly.

And with that, she slid into the bed and faced the opposite direction of what Tom was sleeping.

Amanda didn't like the fact that he was watching her backside, so she slid her frail sheet over her thin frame. It was actually a humid night with the rain still pouring on the deck from above; she didn't want Tom to know that though. She fanned her locks of hair over the netting so as to get air to her neck.

Tom did not say anything, and Amanda sighed with relief. He was not going to say anything. She was going to be able to sleep, however awkward she may look in front of Tom... _"Wait? Why do you care how you look in front of Tom? You're not starting to like him, are you? You shouldn't care what you look like while you sleep, because the only person you have ever or will ever love on this ship is Jack Sparrow."_

Amanda groaned, putting her hands to her head. _"Stop it!" _she yelled at her self-conscious.

"Are you all right, Margaret?" Tom asked, the slightest bit of amusement in his voice.

Amanda brought her hands down and still kept her back to him. "Yes," she said coldly. "I'm fine; thanks for asking."

"You're welcome."

Amanda fastened the sheet around her, preparing to go to sleep. Her mind was in a better state now, and she wasn't going to let it out of control.

"You know, Margaret, you could always tell me what's upsetting you."

Amanda exhaled sharply, allowing him to know she wanted to sleep.

"That's fine, Mr. Dudley. I don't need to talk about anything."

"You seem to talk about a lot of things with Daniel."

Amanda rolled her eyes. "That's none of your business."

"Ooooh," Tom crooned. "I've never seen this side to you, Margaret. I must say that it suits you rather well."

Amanda flashed around onto her other side to glare at Tom. "May I ask you to leave me alone, Mr. Dudley?"

"May I ask you to stop calling me Mr. Dudley?" He grinned that sexy grin of his.

She couldn't help but stop her rant and stare at his smile. "Well…then what would you like me to call you?" she asked slowly.

"Oh, it's all up to you. Tom, T, Tommy if you'd like."

Amanda wouldn't allow herself to smile. "I'll call you 'Mosquito.'"

"'Mosquito?'" Tom repeated, with a disgusted look on his face. "Why would you call me that?"

"Because you never stop buzzing in my ear."

Tom chuckled, shaking his head back and forth. "You never will give me a chance, will you?"

Amanda stared at him, her insides aflame. "I don't see the point. We are merely two crew members on a ship, doing our jobs every day."

Tom became serious and looked at her with a disbelieving face. "You can't honestly believe that you're merely a crew member. You are so much more than that."

Amanda's heart pressed against her chest, and she took her eyes away from his narrow, sapphire gaze. "Well, I believe that you will never give up bugging me." She finally looked up at him. "That's why I will call you Mosquito."

"I refuse to be called Mosquito," Tom said laughing.

Amanda sighed. "Fine. Then what do you want to be called?"

"I already gave you the options, Margaret."

She groaned. "Forget it then." She turned to put her back to him. "I'll think of it in the morning. I'm very tired."

Suddenly, something soft, yet firm, hit her right on the head. Her eyes shot open, and she flew over onto her other side to glare at Tom. He was smiling very innocently, both hands clasped together.

"What is it, Margaret?"

Amanda reached for the object that had hit her. It was a small pillow that had the word "Dudley" sewn into it. It was a very nice treasure. There was a house with a white picket fence and a smoking chimney attached to the one side of the cottage.

She made sure not to show her admiration and held it up for Tom to see. "Did you just throw this at me?"

Tom shook his head. "No. I would never have the decency to do that."

Amanda pointed at the name.

Tom shrugged his shoulders. "Someone must have stolen it."

A small smile reached Amanda's lips. "Oh, I see," she said sarcastically. "So, someone just decided to steal your family pillow, keep it for who knows how long, and then proceed to throw it at my head when I'm trying to sleep."

"Look around you." Tom broadened his arms. "There are plenty of men down here. Why don't you ask someone?"

Amanda looked at the surroundings and then back at Tom. "They're all asleep," she said amused.

Tom held up his finger. "Ah! That's where you're wrong. They're _pretending_ to be asleep."

Amanda rolled her eyes, a giggle escaping her lips.

Tom's eyes widened. "Did you just laugh?" he asked.

She shut her mouth quickly and shook her head.

Tom smiled. "I think you did."

She shook her head again.

"Margaret, that is the first time I have ever heard you laugh because of something I've said."

"Don't expect it to happen again. I was only laughing at your stupidity."

Tom frowned. "Well, that's not fair. I have nothing to make fun of you for."

Amanda shrugged her shoulders. "Guess that means I'm perfect."

The two of them started to laugh. "Is that so?" Tom asked, leaning towards her.

Amanda nodded, still giggling. "Yep."

"Well, there's one thing I could _compliment _you on."

"And what's that?"

"Your beauty."

She immediately stopped laughing. Tom was still smiling, yet had a slightly austere look on his face. It seemed he was waiting for her response.

Amanda sighed and looked away from him. "I'll call you Tom," she said quietly. "I think that's the best option for us."

Tom didn't say anything for a minute. "Sure," he finally agreed. "That's a great idea."

The atmosphere was now in a completely different state. It had gone from fun and playful to awkward and silent. Amanda was never one for awkward moments, so she cleared her throat.

"I'm going to get some sleep now."

Tom smiled. "You do that, Margaret."

She slightly grinned and then turned on her side. Daniel was still not back yet, thank God. She knew that if he had been there, he would be staring back at her with a knowing smile on his face.

Amanda closed her eyes, trying to erase all the thoughts of today out of her mind. But the fact was that everything had changed: Jack, the course of the _Black Pearl_, her new job, and she hated to say it, but Tom Dudley was a new change in her life.

Tom laughed a smug, amatory laugh that caused her heart beat to accelerate.

_"Maybe he's not a bad change in my life."_

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Amanda's eyes suddenly shot open. She was breathing heavily, and sweat had formed on her chest and plastered her hair against the back of her neck. The nightmare she had had seemed so real, and she could still feel the horror her dream character had felt.

"Are you okay?"

She looked to the right and saw that Daniel was staring at her with concern. He was still under his sheet and looked like he had woken up from her sudden gasp.

Amanda took a deep breath and nodded. "I'm fine. I'm sorry; I didn't mean for you to wake up."

"It's okay. I should probably get up anyway."

"No way!" Amanda said, staring at him. "You got back _so _late last night."

Daniel shook her off, but Amanda could see the dark circles under his eyes. "It's fine, Amanda. Jack told me to get up when you did."

Amanda felt dudgeon rise up inside of her. "He said that?"

Daniel nodded glumly.

Amanda exhaled. "He's never asked you to work that much."

Daniel shrugged his shoulders. "I don't really mind. I mean, this is the job that I signed up for you know."

She ignored him, still shaking her head. "It's because of me," she said quietly.

"What?"  
"It's because of me," she repeated. Finally, Amanda met Daniel's gaze, and he was looking at her like she was insane. "Don't look at me like that. You know that it makes sense."

"How does that make sense?"

"He's trying to find a way to get back at me!"

Daniel's brow furrowed. "So, he's making _me _work harder?"

Amanda sighed impatiently. "It means that I'll have less time to talk to you." She looked up on the deck. "He knows that it bugs me more than anything when I don't have anyone to talk to." She thought back on the times when Jack completely ignored her and locked himself in his office.

Daniel touched her knee to get her attention. "Don't worry about it, Amanda. I'm sure that it's just a coincidence."

He got up from his hammock and began to change into some new clothing lying on his night table.

Choosing to look away, Amanda looked to the left, slowly and cautiously. The hammock was empty beside her and rocked with the rest of the ship.

"He just went up right as you were talking in your sleep."

Amanda snapped her head around to see Daniel looking at her with a clever look on his face. She rolled her eyes and looked down at her feet.

"I wasn't looking for him. I just didn't want to watch you change."

He smirked as he pulled a shirt over his bare chest. "Sure…sure. Whatever you say 'Manda."

She sighed and slid out of the bed herself.

"What are you doing?" Daniel asked.

"Going up on deck."

"Why?"

"To help with the crew," she answered slowly, depicting each word.

Daniel stared at her, obviously confused about something.

Amanda goggled back at him. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's just that," Daniel stuttered, "I thought—that you knew…what Jack said."

Amanda's heart dropped. "What do you mean?"

Daniel looked upset and clearly did not want to be the one to tell her this. "Listen, Jack is in his room. Why don't you go ask him about it?" He quickly flew around and walked as quickly as he could toward the stairs.

"Daniel!" Amanda cried after him.

Several men jumped in their hammocks, but Daniel continued to keep his back to her and practically ran up onto the deck.

Amanda sighed angrily and flew around to look at Jack's door at the end of the hall. _"What does Jack have to say to me?"_

For a second, she stayed in her place, not really knowing which way to go. She wanted to defy Jack and go up on deck to help the crew, but she also was dying to know what his new rule for her was.

"Miss?"

Amanda looked down and saw that the small man was lying in his hammock staring up at her.

"Yes?" she asked, walking up to him.

He sighed, sitting up in his bed. "The truth is…Jack has a new job for you."

"And…?" Amanda asked tentatively.

His big, blue eyes gazed up at her. He took a deep breath and quickly said, "He wants you to turn the hour glass every hour."

Amanda stood there for a second, staring down at the small man in shock. She almost had the urge to laugh, but she knew that Jack was serious about this job. He would make her do it, no matter what.

"'Hour glass turner?'"

He nodded his head, looking ready for an explosion.

Taking deep breaths, Amanda had to calm herself down. This was what Jack wanted. He wanted her to get all worked up about it and go to him in a girly fit. She wasn't going to give him that pleasure.

With a lot of will power, Amanda smiled grimly. She knew it must have looked pretty frightening, because the small man's eyes widened with surprise. She continued to smile and then looked directly at him.

"Thanks for giving me that information. Now, I shall go and do my civic duties."

He stared at her for a second, still in awe of her reaction. Then, his head inclined about an inch. She took that for a nod and then turned around to walk up the stairs.

The second her face was of the small man's face, the smile melted off, and a frown formed. She bunched her hands together into fists and breathed evenly through her teeth. "Hour glass turner?" she hissed to herself.

So, Amanda walked up to the deck, preparing herself for the most boring, idiotic, and most severe job of the ship.

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It was night, and the _Black Pearl _had just reached the dock of Tortuga. It had been a long day for the crew. The sun was hot, and there had been no cloud in the sky to cover the sun. Amanda's skin was golden brown by the time the stars had appeared. She had stayed in the sunlight all day, flipping the hour glass when the last grain of salt had fallen in the bottom chamber.

Jack, with the help of Daniel and a few other men, tied up the ship securely. Jack was looking anxious, nervous whenever Amanda caught sight of him. Sometimes he looked to her, as if to see his new set of orders had upset her. Whenever he did that, Amanda would look away and smile a big smile for him to see.

"Mrugendra and Sooji—stay on the _Pearl_. We'll be back before morning," Jack called out to the two men.

They nodded, yet looked quite glum, and then sat down on two barrels that faced out onto the lively town of Tortuga.

Tortuga looked as exciting as it always did at night. The silhouette of the town was bright with lit lanterns, and the crow of drunken men and paid woman cried out together in a strange sort of harmony. The sounds of gunshots and breaking glass rang out with the singing and horrible violin music. Laughter and women's' wooing joined the noises. Each building was lit with brilliance and partying. It seemed that Tortuga never slept.

As Amanda stared at it, all she saw was Jack.

A vision of a man trying to assault her came into her mind. Quickly, she pushed the memory away. It hurt too much to bring that thought back. Jack had never been so kind to her before that night.

"Come on, Margaret," Daniel said in his fake accent.

She came out of her reverie and saw that five men were reaching their hands forward to help her onto the dock.

"Oh, sorry!" she cried out. Amanda grabbed two of the hands and hopped from the ship onto the wooden planks of Tortuga.

As they began walking to the heart of the city, Daniel was looking down at her with an apprehensive look. "Are you okay?" he asked demurely.

Amanda answered with a prompt nod. "I'm fine."

Daniel still glowered down at her. "You're getting worse and worse at lying these days."

The two of them still spoke with their British accents, because they were surrounded by many of the crew members. It seemed some of them were eavesdropping in interest.

"Just forget it, Daniel, okay? I don't really want to talk about it."

Daniel flinched back, his eyes hurt. "Okay," he said slowly. "But you know that you can tell me anything."

Amanda put on a smile. "Yes, I know that."

Very soon (Jack was in a hurry) the whole crew had reached the center of Tortuga. It was as crazy as it had sounded from a distance: women were lifting their dresses in front of drunken men, beer was pouring from two-story balconies, and wild animals were running through the streets in a frenzied panic. Amanda smiled from the lunacy of it all.

"Make it quick, gents." Amanda looked up and saw that Jack was holding his arms up to a familiar pub, pushing the crew inside. "We got many errands to attend to."

She made sure not to make eye contact with Jack as she walked past him to the door. Once she made it inside, all of the crew was waiting there, preparing for Jack's orders. As she scanned the crowd, she saw that Tom Dudley was staring back at her. Immediately, she looked away and could feel her cheeks going red.

"All right!" Jack yelled from behind her. All heads turned to him. "Gibbs and I will be commanders in assigning new men to their posts. The rest of you shall keep eye on any strange-looking men or observers. This job that I am assigned to do won't be considered very ethical to any watching eyes."

"Should we spread out?" someone called out.

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever floats your boat…ship," he quickly corrected himself.

And with that, he and Gibbs walked deep into the crowd so that they were no longer in sight.

As soon as they left, the crew gave each other knowing smiles. With hoots and guffawing, the men took out their shillings and ran over to the bar, pushing past the dancing and fighting men.

Daniel laughed along with them and looked down at Amanda. "You want something?"

The memory of her last drinking experience popped into her mind. "Um, no. Maybe later."

Daniel looked upset, but Amanda laughed and pushed against his arm. "Go ahead. Have fun with the boys. I'm just not in the mood to drink tonight."

Daniel still looked grudging, but Amanda kept up her persuasion. Finally, her friend smiled and chased after his crew friends, the bag of shillings jingling in his pockets.

Suddenly, Tom walked out of the dancing crowd with a drink in each hand. He was smiling at Amanda, being careful not to spill any of the contents in his hands. She rolled her eyes, but a small smile played at her lips.

"Here you go, Margaret," Tom said once he had reached her.

Amanda gently pushed the cup away. "No, thank you," she called over the music.

Tom glared at her and pushed the cup back. "Have it."

"I said 'No, thank you.'"

"I don't care what you said! I just paid two shillings for this, and you're going to have one."

Amanda stared up at his smooth face and couldn't help but to grin at his sexy smile. He took that as a yes and pushed the drink into her open hand.

"Take a sip of that, Margaret; you'll like it. There's nothing like Tortuga's beer."

Amanda put the drink to her lips and let some of the liquid wash down her throat. She hadn't realized how thirsty she was, but the soft foam and the creamy, malted barley tasted wonderful against her dry throat.

"That's delicious," she admitted, taking another sip.

"Don't get too sodden on me now, dear," Tom laughed.

She shook her head. "You don't have to worry about that."

"Oh, I've seen you at your worst, Margaret. Actually, I think it was your only time." Amanda looked up at him in horror, but he just kept laughing. "We all have our bad times. Don't feel bad about it."

She put her hand to her forehead. "Oh, God, remind me to never drink that much again."

He chuckled, now halfway done with his beer. "I'm going to attempt to get you that much intoxicated again."

"You wouldn't dare," she said slowly.

Tom shrugged his shoulders. "It's the only way I have an excuse to take advantage of you."

Amanda hit his arm, and a bit of his drink slid out of his cup. "I would _never _allow you to take advantage of me…no matter how drunk I am."  
He smiled. "Well, you've never seen how persuasive I am after drinking five or six of these," he said, holding up his cup.

Amanda shook her head. "I still wouldn't."

Tom gave an uninterested shrug and then drank the rest of his drink in one sweep. Amanda stared at him in awe as he brought his cup down with an assuring "Ah!" After wiping his mouth, he looked at her. "What?" he asked.

Amanda laughed. "It's going to be a long night for you." She put the drink up to her mouth, but Tom put his hand between her mouth and the drink. "What are you doing?"

He merely smiled and grabbed the drink along the rim. Very smoothly, he took the cup from her, found the closest table, and placed it on the wooden top. He then turned to her with a grin on his face.

"I wasn't done with that," Amanda complained.

Tom laughed. "Don't worry. We'll finish it later."

"'We'll?'"

He rolled his eyes and suddenly grabbed Amanda's hand. His smooth hand slid against her fingers, and she stared down at it in bewilderment. "What are you doing?"

"Come on."

With horror, Amanda saw that he was leading her towards the dance floor. Her heart dropped, and she stopped right in her track. "No. No. I refuse to dance with you."

Tom looked back at her. "What do you mean? You can't just refuse to dance with me."

She started to pull her hand out. "You can go dance with a random woman for all I care. I'll just go back to my drink and watch you."

With unexpected strength, Tom pulled on her hand and brought her against himself. They were now immersed in the crowd and it was much more difficult for Amanda to escape Tom. She was pressed against his chest, and he continued to push through the dancing, drunken folks with his surprising strength.

Finally, they were in the middle of the dance floor. Tom stopped and led Amanda so that she was facing him. He still held onto her hands and smiled warmly at her. She continued to look over her shoulder, cringing at all the watching people.

"Do we really have to do this?" she asked.

Tom rolled his eyes. "I had the courage to ask you to dance. Now, you have to accept my invitation."

He pulled her towards him, and her hands slammed against his chest. He didn't seem to feel the force though. Tom placed her one hand onto his shoulder, and he placed his own hand on her waist. She had to crane her neck up to look at him; he was much taller than she remembered.

His sexy grin crossed his face. "Now, dance."

And with that, they began to fly across the floor. It was as if no one was longer there. The laughter, the breaking glass, and the fighting all left their sense of sound. Tom held onto Amanda with such confidence and leading skills, and she felt like she didn't have to do anything to encourage her moves. He was taking all of the control. Her skirt flew across her smooth legs, and her long locks of hair waved across her shoulders. It didn't matter if there was music or not. They were making such graceful moves; it was as if it was their own tune.

And throughout the whole dance, Tom looked down at her with not a smile, but a calm, determined face. It looked like he wanted to bend down and kiss her on the forehead any minute. She wanted to look away from his piercing gaze, but she had never seen someone look at her like this before. It was as if he had already confessed his love to her.

Amanda had to admit that she was happy. Ever since Jack had broken relations with her, she had never truly had a happy moment. But this dance with Tom Dudley finally brought that feeling of glee back inside her. Everything was perfect right here in Tortuga. Nothing could go wrong.

Or could it?


	11. An Unexpected Crew Member

An Unexpected Crew Member

**An Unexpected Crew Member**

"No more dancing. That is my rule for the rest of the night."

Amanda and Tom were now sitting around a barren table, holding new drinks in their hands. She was wiping the sweat from her brow, and Tom was rolling up his sleeves to get some air to his glistening body.

Tom laughed as he watched her put her hair up in a ponytail. "Sorry that I tired you out, Margaret."

She rolled her eyes. "You're sweating too. Don't make it sound like you're the most achieved dancer in all of Tortuga."

He sarcastically frowned. "How can you joke about that when I made you fly across that dance floor?"

She giggled and took a large sip of her beer. "The flying ended once we reached around 35 minutes of dancing," she said.

Tom chuckled, also taking a drink of his beer. "I agree." He looked over at where Jack and Gibbs were still recruiting men for the _Flying Dutchman_. "I wonder how much longer they'll be doing that."

Anne looked over her shoulder to see the long line of the eager seamen. She turned back to Tom with a discouraged face. "If only they knew what was in store for them."

Tom gazed at her glowering face. "Not too happy about the unpaid debt with Davy Jones, are you?"

She shook her head. "I can't believe that Jack is willing to risk 100 lives just to save his own neck."

Tom shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not really surprised," he called over the suddenly loud violin music. "Jack has a tendency to only look after himself."

Amanda tried to show no feelings with that last phrase. "I suppose. I just haven't been too observant these last couple months."

Tom looked at her with somber eyes, but she ignored him. Quickly, she looked over at the orchestra and put the beer to her lips.

"Once you cool off, would you like to dance some more?" Tom proposed.

Amanda looked at him like he was crazy. "I think I've sweated out all the liquid from my body."

Tom laughed. "Attractive."

Amanda rolled her eyes.

"But really," Tom continued, "if you've sweated out everything, what is there to worry about?"

Amanda leaned across the table. "Sweat is the body's natural way of cooling one off," she called to him.

Tom smiled. "Come on. Don't be difficult. Dance some more with me."

Amanda looked at the dance floor and couldn't help but envy the many dancing couples twirling around the pub. The music had gotten much louder and livelier since they had left.

"I take that as a yes."

Amanda looked across the table at Tom. For a second, she thought of refusing, but she couldn't resist his innocent smile. A grin played at her lips. "Fine!" she cried to him.

He got up from the table in a flash, and he walked over to Amanda with his arm extended. "Just the answer that I wanted to hear."

Amanda rolled her eyes at him, but a grin made the corners of her lips twitch up. She looked at the palm of his tan, sun-touched skin, and felt tingles rise up her arms. She took a quick glance at his dazzling smile, looked back down at her lap, and then finally lifted up her hand.

"Margaret!"

Amanda snapped her head around to see Daniel running towards her, his face red and his eyes bulging.

"What's wrong?" she asked, standing up from her seat.

He grabbed onto her arms, looking over his shoulder at Jack and Gibbs. She couldn't get a clear view of who they were talking to, but it was obviously significant to Daniel's reaction.

"Take a breath," she ordered. "Who's that talking to Jack and Gibbs?"

Tom had walked up behind her. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?" he asked curiously.

"I don't even know," she answered, still looking at Daniel. She bent closer to him. "Daniel, answer me."

He took a couple more breaths, still holding onto her. The red in his face reduced, yet Amanda could see the sweat gathering at his brow. "Margaret…Margaret—do you know who that is?"

She rolled her eyes. "No. That's why I asked you. Who is that?"

Daniel looked directly into her eyes, his face full of agitation. "That man is Commodore Norrington," he breathed.

Immediately, Amanda's hand flew to her mouth, and her eyes flew to the back of Norrington. Jack was no longer sitting in his seat; Gibbs was the only one there.

"Norrington?!"

He nodded. "Norrington."

Tom Dudley's eyes fell on the mystery man. "Looks quite different than before."

That's when Daniel finally took his eyes of Amanda. "'Different?' Why do you think that?" he asked sarcastically. "It's because of the hurricane! Don't you remember the time we left the _entire _Royal Navy in that hurricane? And now he's back! And he wants to avenge all the deaths of his men and the sinking of his ship! We're in an awful amount of danger. Don't you realize that?!"

"Daniel! Calm down!" Amanda put down Daniel's arms and looked at him with gentle eyes. "Don't take it out on Tom. We can't be in that much danger."

He looked at her like she was daft. "Margaret! Do you know how much power he has?"

Amanda sighed impatiently. "Well, if you think that, let's go eavesdrop on them and see what's going on."

"I agree," Tom said.

Daniel seemed to enjoy that fact. He grabbed Amanda's free hand and pulled her towards the try-outs table.

Very soon, the three of them were directly behind Norrington, and they could hear every word he was saying. He wasn't happy. Amanda stared at the back of the Commodore that she had known so well. He no longer looked like that respectable, clean-cut man. His ash-white wig was crumbling into long, wavy dreadlocks that were plastered to the side of his unclean, unshaven face. His clothes were in ruins: holes edging every seam, dirt gathering into clumps on his shoulders, and a milky white substance that looked like manure.

Norrington was bent towards Gibbs, hissing at him. "I nearly had you all off of Tripoli. I would have…if not for that hurricane."

Amanda looked at Daniel and he nodded at her. Quickly, they walked closer, making sure not to come to near. They were just off the right side of Norrington. Neither of them could get a clear look at his face, because the hat he was wearing was casting eerie shadows against his face.

Gibbs sighed, "Lord! You didn't try to sail through it?"

Norrington ignored him and bent closer. "So do I make your crew—or not?"

Gibbs looked quite uncomfortable and started to shuffle through his papers. Norrington smiled. "You haven't said where you're going. Somewhere nice?!"

All of a sudden, the table flew backwards with a deafening crash. Amanda cried out as Gibbs flew along with it, landing calamitously on his back. The papers, the candles, the drinks all slid down on him, causing the music in the room to stop immediately.

Norrington stepped away from the table and turned to the crowd of watchers. "So am I worthy to serve under Captain Jack Sparrow?"

"Jack," Amanda whispered to herself. She was holding on to both Daniel's and Tom's arms.

Jack was walking away from the scene, holding a palm leaf in front of his face. But it was no surprise for Norrington. He took out his gun and pointed it at Jack in one second. "Or should I just kill you now?"

Jack peeked behind the leaf with a grim look on his face. Norrington stared at him with a malevolent look in his eyes, still holding the gun to Jack's face. Very playfully, Jack moved to the left behind a banister pole. Norrington's gun followed him. Jack peeked behind the other side of the pole. Norrington's gun followed him. Jack sighed in defeat. "You're hired!" he said brightly.

Norrington smiled that ugly smile of his. "Sorry," he said quietly, "old habits and all that."

Amanda's heart dropped along with Jack's face.

All of a sudden, Daniel and Tom ran towards Norrington as quick as lighting. They grabbed his two arms with their large amount of strength. Amanda watched in shock as the crowd yelled out and hissed.

"Easy, sailor!" Tom yelled at Norrington.

"That's our captain you're threatening," Daniel cried.

Norrington struggled against them, but they were too strong. He lifted his right arm in the air and fired. The gun shot rang though the entire pub, and Amanda screamed in spite of herself.

The bullet ricochet off of the chandelier, bounded across the room, and hit the drink of a sodden man. The glass shattered in his hand, and he stared down at the dripping liquid in chagrin. He turned to the closest man to him and cleanly punched him across the face.

That was when the pandemonium started. The band started to play a merry jig, yet no one was listening. Fights were breaking out everywhere: drunken men fighting drunken men, pirates fighting each other, and Daniel and Tom fighting against Norrington. Drinks were being smashed against other heads, random gun shots were being fired, and the men who weren't fighting were pulling desultory women to them who where too distracted to protest. Amanda rolled her eyes of the sight of it all.

She looked across the room and saw that Jack was waving her towards him. Gibbs and he were starting to walk up the stairs of the pub. She nodded and made her way towards Tom and Daniel.

Amanda put her arms up in protection as she crossed the dance floor. Men were brushing by her, spilling their drinks all down her dress. She didn't care about that, as long as no glass or bullets were touching her.

Finally, she reached the fist fight between Tom and Daniel versus Norrington. The three of them were circling, waiting for the other one to make a move.

Amanda didn't have the patience for this. She walked forward in between them, staring at the two people she cared about.

Tom and Daniel looked disappointed, yet relieved she was there. "What are you doing, Margaret?" Daniel asked, putting his arms down.

"Jack wants us to leave."

"We're in the middle of something," Tom said, pointing at Norrington over her shoulder.

She rolled her eyes. "He'll find someone else. Come on, before we get left behind."

Amanda walked out of the fighting ring and towards the steps. She heard Daniel and Tom jog after her. It looked like most of the crew was following Jack and Gibbs up the stairs.

Now and then, a drink would come flying at their heads and smash against the wall to their right. Jack just kept walking like nothing serious was going on. Amanda watched in shock as a man jumped form the balcony unto the chandelier.

"This is insane," she breathed to herself.

Tom laughed and touched the small of her back. "This is Tortuga," he said.

They reached the top of the staircase, and Amanda noticed that Jack was trying on different hats, seeing which one was like his original. She couldn't help but smile at his eagerness.

A crowd of men came forward and threw a man over the balcony. Amanda screamed and ran forward to the railing. The man was alive, but just barely. He was lying on top of a collapsed table, the drinks beneath him pouring from the wooden planks.

A hand touched her shoulder. "Daniel, did you see that?" she cried out.

"No time to worry about that, Margie."

She snapped her head back and felt her heart stop when she saw that Jack was the one that had touched her shoulder.

He was staring at her with an undefiled face. She stood up straight and shook his hand off.

"Sorry, Captain. I mistook you for someone else."

Jack's face slowly shook off the surprised look. Defiance and wit snuck back into his eyes, and he smirked at Amanda. "No need to apologize, _Margaret_." And with that, he turned and walked away, a different step in his walk.

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"We'll get back to this another night, won't we, Margaret?"

As all of the crew walked out of the pub into the back alley, Tom found a way to scoot up in the crowd and stand beside Amanda as she walked determinedly behind Jack and Gibbs.

She looked to him with a sour look in his eyes. "We'll see about that, Mr. Dudley."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tom flinch at her cold response. "'Mr. Dudley?' I've never really heard that before. That's usually the name for my father."

Amanda suddenly stopped and turned to Tom, ignoring the fact that twenty members of the crew were running into the two of them, swearing and complaining.

"Listen, Tom, I get what you're trying to do, and it's really sweet. But I have to be honest. I'm a complicated girl. I'm _beyond _complicated. I want something, and I strive for it, and I do all I can to get it, but in the end, if I see too much of it, I'm tired of it. You don't want to get involved with a woman like me. That's final. We had fun tonight, yes. I'll admit that. But in the end, when it comes down to getting serious in any future relationships, I just don't see any of that happening." She threw up her hands. "Look at us! We're standing in the middle of Tortuga, which is like saying we're standing in the middle of hell. If you think _this _place is complicated, wait till you get a handful of me."

Tom stared at her during the whole rant, a smile on his face. Amanda gazed back up at him, her chest rising and falling. A chuckle escaped Tom's lips. "Are you finished, Margaret?"

She looked up in thought for a second. "Yes," she decided, looking back at him, "that's all I have to say."

Suddenly, he bent down towards her without any warning. At first, she believed he was going to kiss her. Her shock didn't give her the ability to move away in time. But he passed by her lips, down past her jaw line, and his mouth was upon her ear. The moment he spoke, chills grazed on Amanda's arms.

"I like a challenge."

He stood up straight, a smug grin on his face. Amanda couldn't portray any look of annoyance or uninterest; she was looking up at him in the complete opposite approach.

"We will do this again."

It wasn't a request or a question; it was a fact. And Amanda knew it was true. She merely nodded and continued to gaze up at him completely speechless.

He smiled again. "Come on. We better catch up."

That was when Amanda came out of her trance. She took her face of Tom's and looked ahead to the crew. They were taking a right turn at the end of the road about 200 feet away.

"Damn," Amanda breathed.

Tom slipped his hand into hers. "Come on," he said. And he jogged off after the crew, pulling Amanda along with him.

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It only took a couple seconds to reach the crew, who were now walking along Tortuga's dock where the _Pearl_ was waiting. Jack called out an order, and members of the crew ran ahead of him and Gibbs to oblige to Jack's wishes.

Amanda and Tom walked up beside Jack and Gibbs. "Anything you'd like me to do, Captain?" Tom asked loyally.

Jack looked to him, opening his mouth to say something, but then immediately shut it. His eyes fell upon Amanda's hand clasped inside Tom's.

Amanda's face abruptly turned red and she took her hand out of Tom's. Jack recovered quickly. "Help raise the main sail, Dudley." He then took his eyes off the two of them and started talking to Gibbs.

Tom looked down at Amanda with a grim smile. "I hope to be in your company later tonight, Margaret."

She smiled. "We'll have to see how busy you are, Tom."

He shook his head with a grin and ran off ahead to join the other crew members.

So now it was Jack, Gibbs, and Amanda taking their time in approaching the ship. It seemed as if the two of them were trying to exclude her form the conversation. Jack was talking in hushed tones, and Gibbs was looking over his shoulder at Amanda every so often.

From behind them, a husky voice cried out, "Captain Sparrow!"

The minute Amanda heard the voice, a familiar inkling went up her spine. _"I've heard that voice before."_

Jack continued to keep walking and peeked over his shoulder for a moment. "Come to join me crew, lad? Welcome aboard." He turned back ahead in disinterest.

"I'm here to fine the man I love."

The three of them slowly turned and gazed at this strange man. Amanda looked him up and down, completely sure that she knew him somehow. The broad jaw line, the narrow nose, and the dark eyes all had a familiar place in her heart. But it didn't give her pleasure to see this person; she felt a slight twinge of annoyance that this person was standing in front of them.

Jack cringed at his words. "I'm deeply flattered, son, but my first and only love is the sea." His eyes brushed across Amanda's face quickly, and she felt the pit in her heart widen.

Captain Norrington suddenly came up behind the man and bent over the dock to throw up what looked like a lot of rum.

The man rolled his eyes. "Meaning William Turner, Captain Sparrow."

Amanda's heart dropped, and her eyes widened.

_"Elizabeth?!"_

Jack flew around and stared at the woman that had caused them all a change in their life. "Elizabeth," he said wonderingly. He then flew around to look at Gibbs. "Hide the rum."

And with that, Gibbs was gone.

Elizabeth's eyes fell on Amanda. "Doing well?" she asked shortly.

"Fine."

Jack turned back to Elizabeth, a slightly amused look on his face. "You know—these clothes do not flatter you. It should be a dress or nothing. I happen to have no dress on my cabin," he said, pointing up at the ship.

Amanda rolled her eyes.

"Jack," Elizabeth interrupted, looking quite solemn. She looked down and took a deep breath. "I know Will came to find you. Where is he?"

"Oh, dear," Amanda said quietly.

Elizabeth looked to her with eyes filled of horror.

Jack sighed and walked towards Elizabeth. "Darling, I am truly unhappy to have to tell you this, but through unfortunate and entirely unforeseeable series of circumstances that had nothing whatsoever to do with me…poor Will has been press-ganged into Davy Jones' crew."

Amanda knew better then to tell Elizabeth the truth.

She stared at Jack. "Davy Jones?"

Norrington suddenly heaved some more rum up and then stood up straight to stare humorously at Jack. "Oh, please. The captain of the _Flying Dutchman_?"

Jack shrinked back from him. "You look bloody awful. What are you doing here?"

"You hired me," James said, walking up to him. "I can't help it if your standards are lax."

"You smell funny!" Jack said jeeringly. Amanda giggled.

"Jack!" Elizabeth cried out. Jack turned to her. "All I want is to find Will."

"I know," Jack whispered, looking annoyed. Then, a look came into Jack's eyes. A look that Amanda had seen a lot. He had a plan. It was a look that was filled with curiosity, determination, and scheming. He looked up at Elizabeth, slowly catching her gaze.

"Are you certain?" he asked, leaning towards her. "Is that what you really want most?"

"Of course," Elizabeth said, perplexed at Jack's attitude.

Jack cocked his head in thought and slipped his arm into Elizabeth's. He began to lead her toward the ship, Amanda and Norrington following behind. "Because _I _would think that you'd want to find a way to save Will most."

Elizabeth stopped him and stared at him. "And you'd have a way of doing that?"

"Well…there is a chest."

Norrington scoffed, "Oh, dear."

Jack quickly looked at him and then back to Elizabeth. "A chest of unknown size and origin."

"What contains the still-beating heart of Davy Jones," Amanda finished for him.

Jack smirked at her. "And whoever possesses that chest," he said to Elizabeth, "possesses the leverage to command Jones to do whatever it is he or she wants—including saving brave William from his grim fate."

Norrington looked down at Elizabeth. "You don't actually believe him, do you?"

There was a moment where Jack and Elizabeth stared at each other: Jack had eyes that were filled with wile and honesty; Elizabeth had eyes full of curiosity and wonder. It almost seemed as if they were the only two people there; Amanda almost felt like she was trespassing in on something.

A small smile crossed Elizabeth's lips. "How would we find it?"

Norrington stared at her like she was crazy, and Jack slipped his hand in his coat pocket with a smile. He brought out his compass and brought it in front of Elizabeth's face. "With this. My compass…is unique."

"'Unique' here having the meaning of 'broken.'" Norrington stated.

Jack nodded. "True enough." Norrington sighed and walked towards the side of the dock. "_This_ compass does not point north," he continued strongly.

The sound of Norrington's vomiting mixed with Elizabeth asking, "Where does it point?"

Jack leant towards her, that fiery look in his eyes. "It points to the thing you want most in this world," he said quietly.

Chills grazed Amanda's arms.

The smile playing at Elizabeth's lips was no longer amused. It had a flirting curl and a curious pout. "Oh, Jack," she sighed, staring up at him.

Amanda cleared her throat.

Elizabeth stopped smiling. "Are you telling the truth?"

"Every word, love."

Amanda couldn't stand it anymore. She turned away from the two of them, a hole starting to form in the center of her chest. Hearing Jack calling her that word was unbearable for her. And even seeing the way he looked at her brought every memory with him back in her mind. She joined Norrington at the dock, grabbing onto the railing with an exasperated sigh.

Although she was away from the two of them, she still managed to hear every word they were saying. Norrington was now done vomiting and was looking at the pair in interest.

Jack said in a purring voice to Elizabeth, "And what you want most in this world is to find the chest of Davy Jones, is it not?"

"To save Will?" Elizabeth asked quickly.

"By finding the chest of Davy Jones," Jack confirmed.

Amanda's chest was still rising and falling, and she put a hand to her heart, letting the ocean breeze hit her red face.

"Are you okay?"

She looked to her left and saw that Norrington was staring at her.

She gave a small laugh and looked back out at the water. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you, Commodore. I just had a bit of a rough night in that pub."

He smiled. "Clearly understood…as you can see." He pointed at himself, and Amanda giggled.

"Mr. Gibbs!"

Amanda turned around and saw that Jack was staring down at the compass in Elizabeth's hands with an eager look on his face.

"Cap'n?" Gibbs replied, walking down from the ship.

"We have our heading," Jack said with a broad smile.

"Finally!" Gibbs cried out. "Cast off those lines. Weigh anchor and crowd that canvas.

Jack did a delicate bow gesture and pointed towards the ship. "Miss Swann."

She gave him a small smile and stepped in front of him to board the _Pearl_. Amanda watched her walk away in distaste.

Jack looked her way and did a double take. A moment of understanding flashed between them. She was still holding onto her chest, like physical pain was taking over her. He stared at her with what looked like marvel and accord.

"All aboard, miss," he merely said. And with that he walked up the ramp to the ship, Amanda watching his back with tears in her eyes.

_Hey guys! Sorry that took so long to update; I was on vacation for the weekend. The next time I update this probably won't be for a very long time, because I'm going on another vacation on Friday for two weeks. I apologize in advance!_


	12. Free

Hello readers

_Hello readers! Wow, I took SO long to write this chapter. I apologize! It's just been really crazy with school. I've been busy with homework, applications, and the musical. I'll try really hard to make this go quicker._

Amanda walked aboard, watching Jack and Elizabeth head towards below deck. Her heart skipped a beat when Jack touched the small of Elizabeth's back to lead her down the stairs. She almost felt sickened by this new change on the ship.

"Margaret!"

Amanda looked to the right and saw that Daniel was sitting on a barrel abaft the fore hatch. She passed the new crew members, smiling warmly at them, though her heart felt cold.

"Hi," she said, switching from her British accent to her original. She sat down beside him on another barrel. Right as she did so, her exhaustion took over, and all her weight fell to her top half as she leaned over her knees.

"You okay?" Daniel laughed.

"Yes," she breathed. "I'm fine."

Daniel didn't say anything for a moment. Amanda knew that he knew what was bothering her. She was grateful he wasn't saying anything about it, because she wasn't sure if she would have the patience to listen to it.

Gibbs suddenly broke the silence with, "All night in! All night in!"

Amanda looked up in surprise at the order.

"'All night in?'" Daniel repeated. "Why would Jack want an all night in?"

The new crew members were looking at each other in question. It was clear that none of them knew these nautical terms.

"It means there are no night watches tonight," Amanda called to the closest man. He looked at her in interest. "You can go to bed without worrying of keeping watch at all."

"Oh," he said, taken aback. "I see." He turned to the man next to him with a broad smile. He then turned back to Amanda. "Thank you, miss."

She smiled. "No need for 'miss.' The name is Margaret."

He tipped his hat at her and then walked towards the steps to descend below.

"Jack wants an all night in, because none of these guys know what they're doing," Daniel answered.

"And because precious _Elizabeth_ knows exactly where her heart lies on."

Daniel slowly turned his head to hers. Amanda looked out at the sea, taking a deep breath to calm herself.

"So _that's _why you're all upset. Because of the new change in crew."

She chose to ignore him.

He cleared his throat. "I can't blame you for not liking her. Really, I can't."

"Yeah, but you think she's hot," Amanda stated.

"Looks aren't everything."

She gave a weak laugh.

Daniel sighed. "Look, Amanda, you were perfectly happy before at the pub. I saw that you were laughing and drinking. You and Tom--."

She pointed sharply at him. "My happiness has _nothing _to do with Tom Dudley," she afflicted as quickly as she could.

Tom leaned up straight, his arms up in protection/surrender. "Whoa!" he cried out. "I was just observing…just merely observing, Amanda."

She put her hand down and looked back out to sea. "Sorry," she said quietly. "I didn't mean to get so defensive."

"It's okay."

The wind swept the curly tendrils of Amanda's hair across her neck. She swung her long ponytail over her shoulder and started to play with the long waves of her hair.

"You look really pretty tonight, Amanda."

Her hands stopped fidgeting at once, and she looked up at Daniel in incredulity. His eyes were kind, and he was smiling gently at her. Amanda smiled back, but felt quite apprehensive. She couldn't help but see the memory of the kiss in her mind as he looked at her like that.

"Thank you," she said shortly, looking away from him. She felt her cheeks redden as she remembered how Daniel had commented her _that _night.

Daniel snorted. "No!" he said. "I didn't mean it like that, Amanda."

She snapped her head to him. "What?"

He laughed shortly. "I'm not gonna kiss you again; don't worry."

Now she _knew _that her cheeks were red. She felt like a complete idiot that she had gone right to that conclusion. "Sorry," she muttered.

"No, don't worry about it," Daniel said, still laughing. He touched her knee. "I meant it in a completely different way. I should have stated it like that."

She still felt shy. "Then, how did you mean it?" she asked.

His face went from smiling to a minute stage of awkwardness. He took his hand off her knee and scratched the top of his scalp with a look of hesitation. "I don't know if you'll want to hear this. You didn't take it so well before." His dark eyes looked fearful.

Amanda's face fell to a disgruntled expression. "It has to do with Tom, doesn't it?" she asked glumly.

"See!" Daniel fretted, throwing up his hands. "I told you that you wouldn't want to hear. If it has anything to do with Tom, you don't want to know anything."

"That's because you think I'm in love with him or something!"

"That's not true. I don't think you're in _love _with him."

"Than what were you going to say?"

"No," Daniel said stubbornly. "I'm not going to tell you now." He crossed his arms and looked out at the waves.

Amanda sighed impatiently. However, she knew that she wasn't going to get to him like that. She looked up at him from below her lashes. "Daniel," she said quietly. He ignored her. "Daniel," she urged.

"Nope. Don't even try."

"Come on! Just tell me. I swear that I'll consider it with an open heart."

Daniel shook his head. "No you won't. You'll just remain as your stubborn self and continue to deny everything I say."

"Won't you at least give me a chance?"

Jack the monkey flew screeching above them, chasing after some night gull. They both looked up for a second and then at each other. This was Amanda's chance.

She gave him the best puppy dog face she could muster. Her eyes fell down to a wide-eyed plea, her mouth fell into a quivering, heart-breaking line, and she made sure to have the lamp shine in her eye so as to give off a glistening tear look.

Daniel's eyes fastened to her. "Oh no," he groaned. "Don't do that." She continued to stare up at him. "Amanda, no. Don't you dare give me that look…with the eyes, and the tear…"

She leaned closer to him.

"Fine!" he finally yelled out. "Fine. I'll tell you."

"Yes," Amanda breathed, her face breaking into a smile.

He glared at her, but clasped his hands together as if he was preparing to tell her what he thought. She shifted her position so that she was facing him straight on.

"Just don't get mad, remember?" he warned her.

She nodded eagerly.

He sighed, looked at the waves, cleared his throat, and then looked back at her.

"I know that you're still in love with Jack."

This is not what Amanda expected. Everything went crashing down inside her. Every thought in her mind went blank, her heart dropped, her façade crumbled, and all preparation of what Daniel had to say exploded.

The outside of her must have crashed down too, because Daniel suddenly looked perturbed. "That's not what I wanted to bring up though, so please let me keep talking," he said quickly.

Amanda couldn't think of anything to say, so she just merely stared at him.

Daniel took that as a yes. "As I said, I know that you still have feelings for Jack." Another stab to the heart. "Everyone knows." Ouch. "I think the only person who _doesn't_ know that is Jack." Painful.

"The point…?" Amanda finally managed to say. She hated herself that her voice was shaking, threatening Daniel of tears.

He sighed. "You were _so _happy with Jack. Whenever you two were together, it was as if no one else was there. You could be in a room full of people, but the only other person you saw was Jack. And the only other person he saw was you." This wasn't helping at all. "I'm not saying all this to hurt you; I want to explain something.

"That smile that I saw on your face was one of the warmest smiles I've ever seen. I mean that; it was beautiful. You've never looked so alive until I saw that smile cross your face."

Daniel took a deep breath, looked down at his feet, and then back at her. "I'm just going to say it quickly."

"Go ahead."

His eyes narrowed. "I thought I would never see that smile again when Jack broke your heart, but I was wrong. I saw it tonight. I saw it when you were with Tom."

The wind howled through the vacant deck. Amanda finally noticed that it was just her and Daniel sitting there. She hadn't noticed any of the men walking below to their welcoming beds. Daniel was staring at her, biting his lip in anxiety, and she was sure that she looked completely emotionless; she felt emotionless.

"Tom?"

He nodded. "Tom."

She couldn't think of anything to say. Daniel sat up straighter. "I'm not trying to hint towards anything just because this is a guy who has shown interest in you; I'm saying it because I saw something in your eyes that hinted towards Tom Dudley being right for you."

Amanda still couldn't think of anything to say. She looked at the railing of the ship, almost wanting to run over and jump. She couldn't explain why; she just had the urge to escape from all of this.

"Are you mad?"

Her head turned back to Daniel and she saw that he was looking very wary. She almost wanted to cry out "Yes!" and run away from him down to her waiting hammock, but she felt guilty as she realized that he had been very courageous to say something like that to her. She knew that she wouldn't have been able to admit something like that.

"No," she finally admitted with a sigh. "I'm not mad."

Daniel exhaled in relief, his eyes closing. "I thought it would be a much worse reaction."

"I've been surprising myself lately," Amanda said quietly. The night sky winked at her, the twinkling stars looking like night lights against the black curtain of the endless sky.

The two of them sat there in silence…and it was actually quite soothing. Amanda and Daniel had the relationship where neither of them had to say anything, and it was completely comfortable to sit together with no words passing between them. It was almost as if they were having a conversation, because they both knew exactly what was going on in the other's head. It was frustrating at times, yes, but then again, she didn't always have to open her mouth to say what she was feeling.

"Well," Daniel said slowly, rising to his feet. Amanda looked up at him. He stretched his arms up as far as they would go and then looked down at his best friend. "I'm off to bed."

"All right," she said in a small voice. The thought of Tom was still clouding most of her mind.

Daniel walked away from the barrels in slow, tired steps. He looked over his shoulder. "You coming?"

The wind, the rolling waves, the silence, the winking stars were just too tempting to walk away from.

"No. I think I'll stay a bit longer."

"Planning on time-turning?"

Daniel could see her glower even in the dead of night.

"If Jack thought I was seriously going to take that job, he has another thing coming," Amanda said.

"Well, you know that we don't even time turn on an all-night in."

"Yeah, I know."

Daniel gave a small laugh. Unsaid words flew between them again. Amanda had to look away, almost as if Daniel could read her thoughts through her eyes.

"Don't stay up too long. I think it's nearing midnight."

"Thanks, Dad!" Amanda teased as Daniel walked to the stairs.

He waved his hand over his shoulder nonchalantly and then disappeared as he slowly descended down below.

The minute he left Amanda stood up from the barrel and practically ran to the railing. Her slippers slid across the damp deck, and she grabbed hold of the oak banister, pushing her torso against it.

A gust of wind blew across the deck right at that moment, blowing her hair back from her face. She closed her eyes and let the wind take over her. The air felt wonderful against her hot face. It pressed against her eyelids, it rushed into her parted lips, and it took every thought, every memory she was trying to forget come running back into her mind.

Amanda had never cried too properly when things ended with Jack; and in a way, that was what was keeping her from moving on. She held all her feelings and emotions in, not wanting Jack to know how much he hurt her. But everything at that moment seemed to take over her, and she was crying like she had never cried before.

Sobs erupted from her, like a river breaking through a dam. Tears were pouring down her face, and her body was shaking with each new sob. She was getting everything out of her: every touch, every look, and every kiss. Her heart was pouring out all the things she had poured out to Jack. She thought of the time she first saw him; she thought of their first kiss; she thought of when he had told her he loved her. It was all coming back to her…and it was also leaving her.

Amanda covered her mouth so as not to wake anyone up. The tears still came down. She didn't know how long she would cry for, but in a way, it felt much better. She slowly sunk to the floor grabbing hold of one of the main sail's ropes.

_"I don't need Jack anymore."_

And when she thought the words, she knew it was true. She was strong enough to get through this. She wasn't a dependent woman; yet she wasn't independent either. As the tears continued to fall onto the worn fabric of her dress, Tom Dudley's smile popped up into her mind.

Even though she was crying, even though she was covering her mouth to stop the sobs, a small smile touched her lips.

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Amanda woke up to a crashing noise. Still exhausted, she slowly opened her eyes to see what had happened.

Her vision was a bit cloudy, but she could make out the profiles of Tom and Daniel, standing over a heavyset, wooden box. Apparently, they did not have the strength to carry it, and it had fallen on the floor.

At the same time, they looked over to her with nervous eyes.

"Oh, great," Tom sighed.

"Margaret! Sorry!" Daniel hissed.

"No need to be." Her voice was strangely hoarse, and she knew it was from her crying. She sat up in her hammock to look at the two of them. "I should probably get up anyway..."

She trailed off as she noticed she was the only one lying in her bed. She then looked at Daniel and Tom with wide eyes. "What time is it?" she said in a high-pitched voice.

Daniel grinned. "It's nearing midday."

"Oh my gosh!" She bounded out of her hammock, grabbing the brush on her night table. "Why didn't you wake me up?!"

"Why would I? You looked exhausted."

She hugged angrily with each stroke of her brush. The tendrils of her hair were getting greasy, which was saying a lot, because Amanda's wavy hair took a long time to get out of hand. She grabbed a stand of her hair and stared at it disgustedly.

"My hair is terrible," she said quietly.

Daniel sighed and heaved the box up by himself. "If you're going to start talking about your hair, I'm out of here." And with that he left the room, leaving Amanda and Tom alone.

She felt her cheeks grow hot as Tom walked up next to her, looking marvelous as always. His sleeves were rolled up, and his tan face was glistening with the strain of his work.

"Bad hair day?" he joked with her.

She glared up at him.

He laughed. "You know…you could always give yourself a bath."

"Oh, yes," she scoffed, letting go of her strand. "Since I have so many ivory baths with me on the ship, that should be so easy." She rolled her eyes.

"Well, Margaret, if you paid attention to how the other men bathe, you would see that they swim in the ocean."

Amanda looked at him like he was crazy. "You expect me to get in that water…where there are sharks, octopi, Krakens…"

"Krakens?" Tom laughed.

"Never mind," she said shortly. "There's no way I'm getting in that water."

His light eyes shone as he laughed at her yet again. "Then ask the captain for his bath."

Amanda's heart skipped a beat, but not like it used to when she heard Jack's name. Before, she felt saddened and anxious to be around Jack. Now, she almost wanted to defy her tears and show that she was over the man that she had loved so much.

"Jack has a bath?"

Tom nodded. "And he allows whichever dirty souls use it when needed."

Amanda giggled and looked away from his face.

He let out a low breath. "You look so beautiful when the color reaches your cheeks."

The last thing she wanted was to blush again, but of course, after those words, a new rush of red came to her cheeks. She looked to the right so as to avoid his glance, but he lightly traced her left cheek. Her head immediately turned to him.

"See? Beautiful," he confirmed.

She smiled.

His hand was still rested against her cheek, and she wanted it to stay there a while longer; it felt so cool against her hot skin. But Tom was a gentleman, and he only kept it there for a moment. He cleared his throat and took a step away from her.

"Would you like me to ask the captain for you?"

"Oh," Amanda said. "No, that's quite all right." And it was. "I'd be glad to do it." She gave him a reassuring smile.

He grinned his crooked smile back. "Sounds great. I'll be up on deck."

"Then, I'll see you in a moment, Tom."

With that, he walked away, a new brightness in his step.

Amanda realized that even as he disappeared at the top of the steps, a smile was still plastered on her face. She immediately dropped it. _"I must look so goofy."_

Then, taking a deep breath, she turned to Jack's door at the end of the hallway. It stood there, menacingly leering at her. She wasn't going to let it scare her. She walked quickly down the hallway, making sure to brush her strands of hair over her back in order to hide the terrible state her head of hair was in.

Amanda reached the door in a second and knocked loudly and defiantly. She brought her hand back down, waiting to hear Jack's voice.

"Come in!"

It was not Jack's voice that she heard, but Elizabeth's. She felt a strange inkling in the pit of her stomach. It wasn't jealousy, but it was definitely suspicion. What was she doing in his room?

She quickly opened the door and walked straight on through.

Jack wasn't in the room; Elizabeth was alone. She was half out of her slip, tempting to tie her corset by herself. She looked over her bare shoulder to see Amanda standing there.

"Oh, Margaret! It's you! Thank God; do you think you could help me?"

Amanda's eyes narrowed as she stared at the picture perfect figure of Elizabeth. Her light, clear skin was just snugly attached to the bones of her back; she wasn't too thin at all. It looked quite nice, which made Amanda stare at her in envy. Her hair, of course, was exquisite. It came down in soft waves and touched the edge of her face gently. It looked as if she had just gotten a bath herself, but Amanda knew that she had not.

The corset was a small one, because the dress was quite casual. It did nothing with the cleavage of a woman. Amanda made sure to buy plenty of these when they stopped at each port. Right now, she realized in humility, she was wearing her nightdress, with absolutely nothing to support herself. Elizabeth must have thought she was a pack rat.

"Did you want to talk to Jack about something?" she asked.

"Oh. I actually wanted to use his bath. I was hoping he'd be in here in order to ask his permission." Amanda tied the last ribbon of Elizabeth's corset. "There you go."

"Thank you." Elizabeth flipped her hair back and walked over to Jack's wardrobe. "You know," she called, "I'm sure it'd be fine. I asked to use his sink, and he was fine with it."

"Was he?" Amanda asked quietly. Her gaze went to the bed. It looked as if two people had slept in there the previous night. All four pillows were lying scattered over the sheets. Amanda looked back to Elizabeth.

"The minute I knocked, you let me right in. What if it had been someone else?"

Elizabeth's head was still in the wardrobe. "I wasn't really thinking to be honest. I really needed help with my corset." She let out a squeal. "Well, isn't this beautiful?"

And with that, she pulled out Amanda's favorite dress of all time that Jack had bought for her. She couldn't say anything, but just watched as Elizabeth drooled over the pale, blue fabric. Amanda recalled over the memory of Jack buying it for her, but felt no pain because of it.

"Do you think this looks nice on me?" Elizabeth asked eagerly.

Amanda had a strong urge to yell out, "No!" and point and laugh at Elizabeth. She almost wanted to tell her whose dress that belonged to. These were all very tempting offers, but then she looked at the brightness in Elizabeth's eyes as she stared down at the dress. She sighed and realized that it did look nice on her…probably nicer than it looked on Amanda.

"It looks beautiful," Amanda admitted.

"You really think so?" Elizabeth asked, still looking down at the fabric.

"Of course."

She then looked up at Amanda with apprehensive eyes. "You wouldn't mind helping me get in it then…?"

Amanda gave a small laugh. "Of course not."

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Amanda was up on deck, helping Daniel carve out the flukes for a new anchor. The job was very strenuous and obviously set for a man, but Amanda could think of nothing else to do.

"Why don't you help with the derricks? Tom said he was working on that today."

Amanda could hear the tone in his voice and gave him a glowering look.

"Ouch, that always hurts," he laughed, banging on the anchor. "If you hadn't gotten that bath, I would have compared you to the Kraken."

Amanda hit his arm. "Very funny. You're lucky I got in that water. I would have smelled _terrible_, and you would have been stuck with me."

Elizabeth suddenly walked past them, towards where Gibbs and Jack were standing together, looking over parchments of paper. As she rushed by, Amanda noticed that she wasn't wearing the blue dress that she had just helped her get in. She was wearing a very plain, gray dress. She watched her suspiciously.

"Where are you going?" Daniel asked as Amanda stood up.

"I'll be right back."

She followed after Elizabeth as quickly as she could. Jack looked up in interest and then froze when he saw Amanda standing directly behind Elizabeth. Amanda ignored him. "Elizabeth?"

She turned around. "Oh, hello."

"Hi." She gave a small smirk to Jack and Gibbs who were watching curiously. Something about Jack's look made Amanda feel nervous. She looked back to Elizabeth nevertheless. "I was just curious as to why you weren't wearing that dress."

Immediately, Elizabeth's head slightly turned to Jack. It was as if she was asking for him to answer for her. "Well," she murmured, "Jack said it didn't belong to me."

Jack tried to look uninterested, but Amanda could see that he was looking at the two of them out of the corner of his eye. She cocked her head to the side. "Well, what does it matter?" she asked loudly. Jack's head slowly inclined.

Elizabeth looked back at Jack and then to Amanda. "He told me that it was important to him. He didn't want it to get dirty."

Amanda's heart skipped a beat. Jack was clearly uncomfortable at this moment: he was looking away from the two of them, shuffling through the papers in his hands. _"What is he playing at?"_ she thought angrily. _"As if he really cares what happens to that dress."_

"I see," Amanda said aloud. "Thank you; I was just curious."

And she walked away from the three of them, many unanswered questions zooming around in her head.


	13. Treated

Treated

Treated

"Brace the foreyard!"

This was the call that awoken Amanda from her reverie. Her mind had been in a distant place, trying to put unsolved mysteries together. However, none of it had worked. Gibb's order had sounded urgent, and so she set to once immediately.

She walked towards the foremast, prepared to set the sails higher than their current position. Suddenly though, a glimpse of Jack and Elizabeth made her stop her duties at once.

Jack was turned away from Elizabeth, a smirk on his face. It was clear that he had something she wanted. Amanda noticed that his hand was stuck in the inside pocket of his jacket. Elizabeth looked bothered, yet determined. She walked closer to Jack's backside. Jack's smile widened.

Curiosity took over Amanda. She slid away from the mast, walking towards the starboard side where the two of them were against the railing. Once she got close enough, she could _just _make out their conversation. So as to look preoccupied, she picked up a bit of rope and began tying a sailor's knot. But she was truly eavesdropping on the two of them.

"You _do _know that Will taught me to handle a sword?" Elizabeth asked slyly.

Amanda looked up from the knot and saw Jack beam. After a moment of silence, he turned towards Elizabeth, much too close. It almost looked as if they were in kissing range. She made sure not to look too obvious, but her curiosity was almost killing her inside.

"As I said…persuade me," Jack breathed. The look in his eyes was smoldering.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and walked away from him, completely annoyed. Amanda quickly set to work on her knot when she passed closely by her. She gave Amanda a quick smile, yet kept on marching across the deck.

Amanda waited a moment and followed her. She pressed against the other crew members and men, disrupting their obligations and work habits. However, she needed to know what was going on. Why were Jack and Elizabeth acting this way together? Why were they looking at each other almost as if they were lovers?

Elizabeth stopped at the last railing, leaning over the bar. Amanda stopped at a barrel close by, still holding onto her knot. She had long finished the knot, but she started it again, making sure to take her time. She heard Elizabeth let out a sigh.

All of a sudden, it seemed as if Amanda wasn't the only curious one, Commodore Norrington came up behind Elizabeth. Amanda saw that her back froze once he leaned against the railing with her. However, he leaned against it with his back and looked towards the deck. Amanda scrutinized him with narrow eyes.

He looked sure and complete of himself. He knew something was up, just as Amanda had known.

"It's a curious thing," he said lightly, looking up at the gray sky. When Elizabeth didn't say anything, he cocked his head towards her and smiled. "There was a time when I would have given anything for you to look like that while thinking about me."

Chills settled on Amanda's arms.

Elizabeth shook her head and turned around as well. "I don't know what you mean," she muttered.

"Oh, I think you do," Norrington said slowly.

Elizabeth snapped her head towards him. "Oh, don't be absurd! I trust him; that's all."

Norrington laughed and walked away from her, the confident look on his face. Elizabeth's eyes followed him, completely narrow with hatred. Amanda couldn't help but notice that no matter how frustrated Elizabeth looked at what Norrington had said, she looked quite uncomfortable as well. What did that mean?

Just as Elizabeth took something out of her pocket, a hand touched her shoulder.

"Jesus Christ!" Amanda screamed out, spinning on the spot.

Tom was standing there, his hand raised, trying very hard not to start laughing. "Are…you okay?" he asked bemusedly.

Amanda sighed grabbing onto his lowered arm. "Tom!" she said in relief. "You can _not _just come out of nowhere like that! I almost stabbed through you with my sword."

Now a laugh finally burst from Tom. His blue eyes twinkled as he looked down at her. "I think I could have handled that."

Amanda frowned. "I wouldn't be so sure. You don't know how good I've been getting at it."

"That's true," Tom admitted. "I've never seen you in action."

Looking back on her previous sword fights, Amanda suddenly realized that she had not improved in the slightest with her techniques. There had been the time when she had nearly been run through by a man from Barbossa's crew and the time when a skeleton pirate had slashed her very deeply across the stomach. She subconsciously put her hand to her stomach.

"What's the matter?" Tom asked, all humor gone from his voice.

Amanda came out of her reverie, looking at his face dreamily. "What?" Tom smiled. "Sorry!" she cried, putting her hand down. "I was just remembering my last sword fights."

"Were you victorious?" Tom asked eagerly.

Amanda bit her lip, and Tom laughed.

"I hypothesize that that is a 'no.'"

"You would be right," Amanda answered.

The two of them laughed, but Amanda was the first to stop when she held her hand against her stomach again. "I still have a scar," she said quietly. She could almost feel the pain of the sword cutting through her skin like a thin slice of butter. "It hurt very much."

"I knew that you got injured," Tom said concerned, "but I never had the knowledge of where and why." He was staring at her hand. "Your stomach is scarred."

Amanda nodded, staring at his descended head. His eyes were soft and gentle as he stared at her clothed torso. She had never seen anyone look so genuine about her safety. He looked downright alarmed that she had gotten hurt. The curve of his eyes was sharp and cold, almost like her pain had caused him some harm.

She laughed to break the tension. Tom looked up at her, clearly confused. "It's nothing to fuss over, Tom," she laughed. "I'm fine now."

He smiled but still looked down at her stomach. She felt her cheeks grow hot. "Tom," she said firmly. He looked up at her. "Honestly, I'm fine. It happened ages ago."

A smile finally crossed his sharp features. "Then I'm glad."

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Amanda had been helping with the strenuous job she had been doing the day before with Daniel. There was only one change: she was now working with Tom. She realized that she felt so unbelievably comfortable with Tom. Not only was he kind and helpful, he made her laugh. Of course, it wasn't the kind of humor that matched Jack's witty remarks, but his innocence was one of the things that appealed to Amanda in a bright way.

They had been working for hours, but to the two of them, it felt like minutes. The sky was now high in the sky, causing their brows to form droplets of sweat.

"You need to carve it in an arc, Margaret. You're not scooping it enough."

She was holding the right side of the anchor against her leg, bending over the heavy metal. Scraps of their work were lying across their feet, and the new anchor was beginning to take the shape of the old one. Amanda looked up at Tom with a glare.

"Don't patronize me," she warned him.

He laughed, leaning towards her from his opposite barrel. "I have higher authority over you, Miss, and I will give you your orders with no whines or complaints."

She gave him her seething look and looked back down to look at her work.

Tom laughed again, but his laugh came up short. He was silent for a moment, and Amanda stopped her work in interest. He finally said in a quiet voice, "What _are _Jack and Elizabeth doing?"

Amanda brought her head up to look at him. He was looking over her shoulder, his eyes alight with wonder. She turned her torso around to see what was going on.

Jack and Elizabeth were exceedingly close…much closer than they had been a couple of hours ago. Elizabeth was smiling, looking smug with something, and Jack looked anxious. This wasn't what concerned the two of them the most.

Jack's hand was brushing Elizabeth's hair back. Their faces were inches away. Amanda gasped when Jack leaned in for the kiss. His mouth was open, her lips almost upon his. She and Tom stared at them, not being able to move.

_"Will,"_ was the one word that flashed through Amanda's head.

Everything was about to be ruined. Jack and Elizabeth would kiss, and the connection between Elizabeth and Will would be broken. Amanda couldn't understand it. Why were they kissing? Why were they looking at each other that way? Elizabeth and Will had been engaged to be married.

Very suddenly, however, Jack pulled away from Elizabeth last minute. Amanda's brow furrowed. What had happened? She hadn't mistaken the moment between them. They had certainly almost kissed. What had stopped Jack?

Elizabeth smirked and said something to Jack. She was too far away for Tom and Amanda to hear. Jack had his left hand pulled up to his side, his face in a painful cringe. Amanda realized that her mouth was still agape.

"Land ho!"

This cry from Gibbs smacked across Amanda's face. Her head snapped to the west, looking out across the sea. Sure enough, there was a stretch of land before them. She hopped up from her barrel and ran to the railing. Tom was at her side at once. They could hear the other men thundering across the deck to see the scene before them.

It was merely an island…an island that looked as plain as the one she had been abandoned on. Her mind flashed back to the day where Jack had threatened to kill Elizabeth because of destroying his rum supply. She felt a smile cross her face.

"Why the smile?" Tom whispered into her right ear. "I would have thought after _that_ little scene, a different emotion would be riding upon your face."

Amanda stopped smiling at once, her thoughts going back to Jack and Elizabeth. She had not forgotten it, of course, but the sight of land had made her heart jump with relief. She was more curious as to why they were heading for this unknown island instead of why Jack and Elizabeth had been practically kissing.

"You know I don't care," Amanda responded, still looking out at the water.

Tom's fingers lightly touched her back.

Elizabeth appeared out of nowhere, thumping against the railing beside Amanda. She turned her head to the left to stare at the breathless figure of Elizabeth.

Elizabeth's eyes were wide as she stared at land. It was clear she was just as anxious as to why they were here. She couldn't understand it though. If she was so jumpy about getting to Will, why are she been in Jack's arms before?

"So, this is the key to saving Will?" she asked, turning towards Amanda.

Amanda slowly nodded, observing her with scrutinizing eyes. Elizabeth looked back out at the island with a smile on her face.

"Is something the matter? You're all out of breath," Amanda said.

Elizabeth's smile slid off her face, and pink patches touched her cheeks. "No," she said shortly. "Nothing's the matter. I'm just excited."

"Hmmmm. It appears so. Just a couple seconds ago, you didn't seem so excited…" Amanda allowed the words to sink in for a second.

Elizabeth knew what she meant at once. She turned to her, eyes narrow. "Excuse me?" she breathed.

Amanda stared right back, not letting her features develop any emotion. "I think you know what I mean." Elizabeth opened her mouth to say something, but Amanda talked over her. "Your thoughts are quite compromised at this moment, believe me, I know. I've had to deal with this situation for many months now, and I know what it's like for different thoughts to cross my mind."

"No, listen. I think that--."

"No, _you _listen," Amanda interrupted darkly. Elizabeth's eyes widened. "I've had to listen to you for too long now, and it's my turn to talk," Amanda continued in her quiet voice. She could feel Tom leaning against her to catch her words. "I respect you, Elizabeth, I really do, but I don't appreciate this game that you're playing at. I don't like it all, and I know that I'm not the only one."

"Margaret," Elizabeth said coldly.

"Please let me continue." Elizabeth's mouth was one, hard line. "The men on this ship are my family… _my _family. And if you do anything to jeopardize that, I will take measures into my own hands."

Elizabeth had an amused look on her face. She leaned back from Amanda, her eyebrows hidden under her hair.

"Are you threatening me?" she laughed without any humor in her voice.

Amanda shrugged, staring into Elizabeth's dark eyes. "You can take that any way you want."

All humor was gone now. Elizabeth stared back at Amanda, her eyes ice cold. "You are so mistaken. You think you know what you see, but you have no idea."

"If I'm not the only one who has noticed, you should realize that _you're _the one at fault here." Elizabeth scoffed, tossing her hair over her shoulders. "I don't want to be your enemy," Amanda continued. Elizabeth looked back at her. "I mean what I say though. Stop playing this game with Jack. I mean it."

"Is this a jealous girlfriend game that I don't know of?"

Amanda gritted her teeth. The thought of pulling Elizabeth's pretty little hair out of her head sounded so appealing right now. She spoke through her teeth when she finally answered. "How would you know? You're not a girlfriend to _anyone_ right now."

Amanda had pushed a button. Elizabeth's face was stone hard. Her hands were balled into fists against her legs. "I love Will," she whispered. "He's my fiancé."

"Good. I'm glad. Then I suggest that you keep it that way. This has nothing to do with Jack and me, because I am no longer attached to him the way we were before."

Surprise finally flitted across her face. "Then why are you giving me this warning?"

Amanda took a step closer to her. It didn't matter that Elizabeth was four inches taller than her; it didn't matter that Amanda felt like a total bitch right now. She wanted to get her point across.

"Because you and I both know that if Will found out about this, everything would be ruined for this ship. Fights, a breakup of the crew, and possibly deaths would erupt from the situation. Merely because of something _you _did. I'm not about to let that happen. I care too much for all the men on this ship to let you do something like that."

"I love them all too you know."

Amanda smiled, all of her teeth showing. "Then stop screwing up their lives."

"Screwing" apparently wasn't a word yet in the English dictionary. Elizabeth looked perplexed when Amanda said the word, yet she didn't question it. Her lips noiselessly mouthed the word, but she didn't say it aloud. After a second, her lips formed into a line again.

"I hope that we've sorted everything out," Amanda said sweetly, grinning at Elizabeth.

For a moment, Amanda thought Elizabeth was about to slap her. But then she smirked, her hard jaw line making her features look bird like. "Of course. You would know best, wouldn't you?"

"I think we both agree on that."

The two of them stared at each other, Elizabeth stone-faced and Amanda smiling like a five-year-old girl. Finally, Elizabeth cleared her throat and looked back out at the island. "I'll go see if Jack needs help with anything," she said, her voice cracking.

Amanda nodded. "You go do that."

And with one last glower, Elizabeth stepped away from the railing and made her way to the steps. Amanda watched her go, the smile leaving her face.

Tom gave out one low whistle, a chuckle breaking through his impressed approval. Amanda turned toward him, a sheepish grin on her face. His hands were stuffed in his pockets, and he was looking down at Amanda with wide eyes, nodding his head.

"I have to admit that that was very frightening," he laughed.

Amanda copied him. She looked down at her feet. "Oh, please. I'm the least frightening person on the ship."

"No…no. Honestly. You had me shaking in my boots." He was standing over her now, his body inches from hers.

"Did I?"

"Yes, you did." His mock fear had her laughing. She giggled against her closed fist. "I don't see what's so funny about all this. Remind me to never get you angry."

"Yeah, you better watch out," she said, leaning towards him. "It's even scarier if I've known you longer."

He shook his head. "You've known Elizabeth longer than me."

"Yes, but we never talk. I've been constantly talking to you for the last couple weeks. You're in danger of my wrath, Mr. Dudley. I just have to warn you ahead of time that you will probably not survive it the first time. Or you'll have to go to a psychological doctor to cure yourself afterwards."

He cringed. His torso was now leaning against her. "That sounds horrifying."

She giggled. "It is."

His arms were now wounding their way across her waist. They rested against her back so he was pressing herself up against him completely. Her heart rate accelerated.

"Can I tell you something though?" Tom said quietly. Amanda could feel his breath on her face.

"Hmmm?"

His smile was goofy, almost like a high school guy would grin at her. She tried to recall the looks boys at her school would give her when asking her to a dance or to the movies, but only snippets of faces came into her mind. Tom's face was too sexy for her to be distracted by high school guys anyway.

He leaned down so that all she could see was his eyes. She had the sense that his mouth was only an inch away though. No trace of a smile was on her face anymore. He whispered quietly to her, "The way you talked to Elizabeth just now was the most smoldering you have ever been, Margaret."

She closed her eyes. It was about time she let this happen. Tom had wanted it for so long, and she had played with his heart. It didn't matter that they were in the middle of the ship. It made no difference if they were surrounded by the rest of the crew. The way he was holding her right now, she forgot that they were making their way to an unknown island full of danger.

Just as Tom's lips lightly touched Amanda's bottom lip, Gibbs cried out, 'TOM?!"

The two of them tore apart, Amanda's cheeks hot as lava. They looked up at the steering where Gibbs and Jack were standing together. Amanda was mortified to see that most of the men surrounding them were all staring at the two of them, smiles on their faces.

"What?" Tom cried defensively.

Gibbs' eyes were wide with horror. "What do you think you're doing, mate? You know the order of 'land ho' is your first priority of your position. You were supposed to be lowering the dinghies minutes ago, lad!"

Tom sighed angrily. "It's only been three minutes, Gibbs!"

Gibbs got even angrier. "I don't care how long it's been. Instead of pressing yourself against any ladies, you should be doing your obligations that were set for you your first day." He looked at Amanda. "My apologies, Margaret. No hard feelings."

Amanda's cheeks were still hot. "No need, Gibbs."

Gibbs smiled, and he actually looked quite amused now. "Now, get to it. You have plenty of time for your other…obligations…" He started to laugh.

Tom turned to Amanda, his eyes rolling. Amanda smiled up at him. "I'm sorry," Tom whispered.

"Its fine," she laughed. "No need to apologize, honestly."

He looked over at the other men hoisting the boats into the water. He then looked back at her. "Later tonight, we'll talk."

Her heart skipped a beat at that. Why was she so excited to be with him?

"Okay," she answered.

Tom smiled once more at her before leaving to help the other men.

The second he left, she let out a sigh. Just the feeling of his lips against hers had left an electrical current on her mouth. She lightly touched her fingers to her lips, not believing that he had just kissed her. After all of that time of denying that she had any feelings for him, rejecting his smiles and flirting, and saying that Jack would come back to her seemed so far away now.

Everything had changed.

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"In you come, Margaret."

Amanda was helped into one of the dinghies by Pintel and Ragetti. She gladly took their hands and smiled in thanks as they set her on the middle plank. She was so distracted by not falling out of the boat that she didn't even realize that Jack was sitting in front of her. He was facing her, a jar of dirt in his arms.

"Oh!" she cried, taken aback. "I didn't know that you were in here!"

He nodded, clearly uncomfortable. "Yes. I had the misfortune of rowing with the two mutineers of my last captaining of the _Pearl_."

Pintel turned towards him, his face hurt. "We've already apologized hundreds of times, cap'n!"

"Aye!" Ragetti added. "And now we've volunteered to row the two of you."

Jack's face was sour. "Well then, do your duties! It's the least you can do after years of betrayal."

Amanda giggled, and Jack looked at her. "Come on, Jack. Don't you think it's about time you forgave them?"

"Aye!" they both cried out.

"I agree with the lady," Pintel said.

Amanda laughed.

"Row!" Jack barked.

The two of them jumped and began rowing at once. The second that the boat started moving away from the _Pearl_, Jack turned so that he was facing the island. Amanda was forced to stare at his backside. She glanced at him wonderingly. Why did he seem so cold with her? She was too curious to ignore it.

Very carefully, she stood up from the bench, took small steps towards the farthest plank of wood, and plopped herself down next to Jack. The petite boat swung side to side more threateningly than before. She grabbed onto the side to steady it.

"Woops! Didn't want _that_ to happen."

Jack ignored her and continued to look out at the island. His chin was propped up on the jar of dirt. He looked like a child holding their favorite stuffed animal. Amanda turned to him.

"Are you anxious about something?"

His eyes stay glued ahead, but Amanda could see the hardening of his jaw. "Not really, no. Maybe the fact that a sea monster is on our tail, but beside that, my thoughts are crystal clear, l--." He had been about to say "love" but had stopped before he finished.

Amanda sighed. "Are you angry with me?"

"Not at all," he said, his voice rising.

"You're pulling too fast," Pintel suddenly growled.

Jack and Amanda looked over their shoulders at the two men.

"You're pulling too slow," Ragetti complained. "We don't want the kraken to catch us."

Jack rolled his eyes, and Amanda giggled.

"I'm saving me strength for when it comes," Pintel said. He looked at Ragetti, his eyes narrowed. "And I don't think it's 'kraken' anyways. I always 'eard it said 'krayken.'"

"With a long 'a?'"

"Uh-huh."

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no. 'Kroken' is how it's pronounced in Scandinavian, and 'kraken' is closer to that."

Amanda stifled a laugh.

"We ain't Scandinavians, are we? 'Krayken,'" Ragetti finished proudly.

Jack turned back around, completely uninterested. The two of them continued to fight, but Amanda turned around with him, staring at him with gentle eyes. He had no emotion on his face, and he still stared out at that island like it wasn't close enough.

She realized that it was no use. There was no need for her to try to get something out of him; it wouldn't work anyway. He was too stubborn for her to pry anything out anyway. Tom wasn't like that; he was the opposite of her: not stubborn at all.

The second Tom came into her mind, she felt her heart skip a beat. She wanted to look over her shoulder to find where he was sitting, but she didn't want to make it too obvious that she wanted to be by him.

"What are ye smiling at?"

Amanda looked up in surprise to see that Jack was looking at her out of the corner of his eye. "Nothing," she said suddenly. "I was just--."

"It's that Dudley fellow, isn't it?"

If Jack had been looking at her, her mouth probably wouldn't have fallen open. But it did, and he was still staring out at the island, that emotionless look on his face. When he had said those words, they came out in a biting sense. They were cold and harshly spoken.

"I…didn't know that you didn't--."

"Not now, Margaret. Please. I have a lot on me mind."

And he went back to ignoring her, the only sound being Pintel and Ragetti's fighting in the background.

_Hey guys! Just so you know, the title of this chapter is this thing my friends and I say. Whenever you burn someone, we always go, "Treated!" It's kind of stupid, but this chapter kind of reminds me of that, because Amanda "treats" Elizabeth really bad. Haha, thanks for reading!_


	14. Davy Jones' Chest

_Hey guys! Okay, I have NO excuse for why this took so long. I apologize a hundred times. Hope you enjoy this next chapter. And sorry again for taking so long!_

Davy Jones' Chest

It had only taken a couple more awkward minutes to make it to the island, and by the time they got there, Jack was still solemn and not paying any attention to Amanda. She stared at him curiously the whole way there. Why was he acting this way? He had no reason to. For all she knew, _he _was the one that wanted to avoid any uncomfortable arguments with her. It almost made her angry to see him this way. But then she saw Tom walk his way toward her once they got off their separate dinghies. A smile crossed her face at once.

"Nice trip?" He was watching Jack's retreating back.

"You noticed as well?" Amanda asked disappointedly.

Tom shrugged his shoulders, grabbing his sword from the bench. "I can't say that I'm much surprised."

She looked at him in interest. "Why do you say that?"

Before he could answer, Jack boomed out an order. "Only three come wiv me!"

Tom and Amanda's heads snapped in his direction.

He was standing before the beach, the waves gently lapping at his feet, a shovel hoisted over his shoulder. The charcoal that lined his eyes was slightly running from the heat and his dreadlocks were looking more untidy than usual. His sleeves were pushed up, exposing his bare arms. Everything about him looked strained, an emotion that was never usually compared with Jack. He was always laid back, never concerned about anything, but this new change on the ship had made him a completely different person.

"I want Elizabeth, Norrington, and Margaret to come wiv me!"

Amanda's eyes widened.

Jack turned away without even looking back and started walking over the sand dunes. Elizabeth and Norrington moved at once, but Amanda stayed in her place.

"Why so still? Make your way with him," Tom ordered, gently pushing her forward.

"Why does he want me?" Amanda asked in shock.

Tom snorted and she saw that he had that same unconvinced look on his face. "As I said before, I can't say that I'm much surprised."

"What do you mean by that?"

He turned toward her, his eyes narrowing against the sun's light. "Do you really think Jack wants the two of us to be alone?"

Amanda's brow furrowed.

"Margaret!" Jack bellowed in his hoarse voice.

"Aye!" Amanda yelled over her shoulder. She looked back at Tom, still looking skeptical.

His sharp eyes rounded and he gave a short laugh. "Make no fuss over it, Margaret; we'll speak of it later. Listen to your captain at the moment."

She gave a small smile and made her way out of the waves to follow Jack.

"Margaret!" Tom called once more.

She turned much too eagerly. At once, she hoped it was not too obvious the effect he had on her.

But his smile was warming and he looked just as pleased to see her gaze upon him. His eyes sparkled in the sunlight, his hair shone as brightly as the sea surrounding him. All she desired to was to run to him and jump in his arms.

"Please be careful," he said quietly.

Amanda smiled once more, turned, and followed Elizabeth and Norrington up the sand dunes. Jack had already made his way over and was practically running down the small hills.

She couldn't help but still feel curious as to why Jack had asked her to come. There had to be a specific reason and she was almost positive it wasn't the one Tom had suspected.

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The walk had been much longer than she had expected. It was nearly twenty minutes later and sweat was pouring alongside Amanda's face. It didn't help that the supposed "light" dress she had on was bunching in all of the wrong places, causing her to feel itchy and scratched up. They crossed through many tide pools and now Amanda's slippers were soaking wet, adding more weight to her walking. Jack, of course, was in the front, acting as though nothing was going wrong. She cursed him for looking perfect. She was sure she looked like a wet dog.

Finally, they crossed a couple more hills of sand dunes, and it looked as if Jack wanted to stop. Amanda looked over her shoulder and saw that the other members of the crew looked like mere ants from this distance. She could actually make out Tom from where she was standing. His figure was blurred from the heated mirage but it almost looked like he was facing her, as if he was watching over their small group.

Elizabeth was holding the compass now. She walked through the group, leading in front, holding it before her to see where this chest could be. Amanda was pleased to see that she wasn't looking at appealing as she was before: her long hair was plastered to her face, her eye makeup was running, and dirt was beginning to cake itself onto her skin. A dark smile played at the corner of Amanda's lips. _"And she's still wearing men's clothes."_

Elizabeth looked concerned, almost perplexed, as to the direction the compass was facing. She stopped, turned slightly to the right, to the left, and then back to the right again. She looked over her left shoulder for a second, but then turned straight again. Amanda couldn't understand how difficult this could be. She sighed impatiently.

"What's the delay for?" she asked rudely. She couldn't help it if she was cranky. She internally blamed it on the sun.

Elizabeth huffed angrily and sat down on the sand in a dramatic _plop_. "This doesn't work!" she cried out. Jack and Norrington looked towards her. "And it certainly doesn't show you what you want most." The compass fell from her hands and landed softly on the sand beside her.

Amanda rolled her eyes and Norrington smiled. However, Jack made his way towards her, his arms raised up high. They always got like that when Jack was eager about something. When he was above the compass, he looked down at it in determined concentration. "Yes it does. You're sitting on it," he muttered.

"Beg pardon?" Elizabeth asked, looking up at him. Her eyes were wide in surprise.

Jack fluttered his arms. "Move." He whistled, encouraging Elizabeth to shoot up from her place. "Come on," he ordered. She moved to the side beside Norrington and Jack gave him a significant glance.

Norrington rolled his eyes and walked toward the place Jack was pointing at. Without hesitation, he plunged the tip of the shovel into the sand and began to dig as quickly as he could.

The minutes passed by in a strange dimension. Elizabeth was standing by herself, her arms crossed. She was staring at the process with dark eyes, looking more and more distraught each time Norrington plunged his blade into the sand. Jack was sitting beside Norrington, in a meditation pose. His eyes were closed, his hair blowing in the wind, and his legs were folded upon one another. Amanda wondered what he was thinking of. She was standing on the other side of Norrington, looking over his shoulder. This mystery had gone on long enough and she dying to know what could be hidden underneath all of this sand. Sweat was dripping from Norrington's long strands of hair and the tip of his nose. He paid no attention to it though; all he cared about was the mission at hand.

The atmosphere was thick with tension. This was the moment of truth. The second that Norrington's shovel pressed against whatever chest laid underneath the island, all of Jack's realizations and dreams would come true. It had seemed so long ago that Jack had snuck into the jail of hell to find the drawing of Davy Jones' key. Now, they were waiting to find this object that was haunting every second of their days. Amanda bit her lip nervously, still looking out at the mirage that was the _Black Pearl_ crew.

_Thud._

Many things happened at once: Norrington stopped suddenly, loosening his grip on the shovel; Elizabeth's head snapped to Jack; Jack's eyes flew open in one sharp movement; Amanda looked to Norrington.

At the same time, all four of them made their way over the wide hole. They all slowly bent their heads over the dark enclosed space, looking upon the object below.

"Well, go on! Hoist it up!" Jack ordered.

Norrington and Elizabeth didn't even have to jump in. They bent as low as they could, grabbed each side of the chest, and heaved as best as they could. It slid out of its burrow from the sand and bumped and grinded its way against the side of the hole.

"Move," Jack said as soon as it was out.

The chest was dropped, Norrington and Elizabeth scurried out of the way, and Jack bust the lock open with the blade of the shovel.

"Go on, Jack," Amanda breathed. She could feel her heart beating against her chest.

Jack stared at her for a second and she couldn't help but lock her eyes onto him. A significant gust of wind blew through the small circle and swept every lock of her hair across her face. Through the strands of dark hair, she saw Jack was gazing at her intently, almost as if she were the contents of the chest. His dark, round eyes were the same as ever. It had been so long since she had looked into them. Too long, she hated to admit.

The wind blew against her hair again, and when it had passed by them in a rush, Jack was looking down at the chest once more. Amanda felt her heart sink ever so slightly.

And then, it was open. The four of them stared at the dark cavern within, taking every scrap and piece of the treasure they had been searching for. Jack's hands lightly caressed over the dark wood that lay entrapped inside. His eyes were bright, yet he had a bit of an astounded look on his face, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Amanda had no reaction to the sight before her.

There were piles and piles of cards: cards with hearts, stars, and curvy signatures written against the yellow parchment. The envelopes were all coated with dust and sand, mixing together in a strange texture that they all brushed between their fingers. Amanda realized at once that they were love letters. She hovered more over the chest, looking deeper inside. Everyone was still managing to be silent. There were no words to be said. Amanda couldn't tell if they were in awe, like her, or if they were too exhausted to speak what they were feeling. Either way, the only noise was the hollow wind scratching against the papers of these long lost lovers' letters.

Elizabeth picked up a long scroll from the left side of the chest. She looked at it curiously, her dark eyes narrowed. Amanda thumbed a particular necklace that held an iron heart with a strange carving of a face etched into it.

Suddenly, the hearts of all four of them unknowingly sped up when Jack reached deeper into the letters and insignificant love trinkets, and pulled out a smaller chest. Elizabeth's scroll drooped minimally in her hands and the necklace Amanda was holding slid between her fingers to land with the other jewelry.

Jack held the chest before him, staring emotionlessly at the intricate details and carvings of the bands and designs. The chest was not wooden, but a strange sort of metal. Amanda realized that it would be much too difficult to destroy.

Without any suggestion, the four of them synchronically bent their heads down towards the chest resting in Jack's hands. Amanda leaned her left ear towards it, trying to silence everything else surrounding her.

It only took a second.

The sound of a heart beat reverberated from within the chest, much louder than Amanda had expected.

All their heads shot up in disbelief, yet their eyes still remained glued upon the chest before them.

"It's real," Elizabeth breathed.

Norrington looked at Jack with amusement outlining his lips. "You actually were telling the truth."

"I do that quite a lot, yet people are always surprised," Jack admitted, turning his head towards Norrington.

Amanda snorted under her breath.

"With good reason!" a voice from behind them shouted.

They all looked behind them to see the intruder, and all at once, their mouths dropped. Elizabeth flew up from where she was kneeling, practically shaking. "Will!" she cried out quietly. Amanda could hear the tears in her voice.

And there he was: William Turner. His dark hair was dripping upon the pirate clothing he had become so accustomed to. He was out of breath, clearly from swimming, because it seemed impossible for a man to sweat through all of his layers. He stood before the hill, looking more impressive than ever. He had gotten stronger, yet his stature showed that he was exhausted and worn. When he heard Elizabeth scream, his brown eyes lit up and his arms raised to beckon her to him.

She ran to him without any hesitation. It almost looked comical the way her arms flew about her and the sand rose up from her boots to hit against her backside. Amanda stared at the way her face was flushed and how every part of her was being pulled towards Will. She watched as she cried out to him, her voice absolutely breathless. "You're all right! Thank God!" She reached him and threw her arms over his shoulders. "I came to find you!"

They each took a second to stare at one another full on in the face. Will smiled then, brightly, clearly taken in holding her once again. Elizabeth bit her lip, still holding back the joyous tears that were filling in her eyes.

Will pressed his lips against her passionately and Elizabeth grabbed the back of his head. They stood against one another, not paying any attention to the audience.

Amanda looked down at her feet, letting them have their moment. Sure, she may not have been the greatest of friends with Elizabeth, but as she had once experienced, it was very uncomfortable to know that everyone was watching you when you were kissing the man you loved.

A couple seconds later, Jack finally interrupted. "How did you get here?" he barked.

Will took his face off of Elizabeth's to look at Jack's, but he still had his arms tightly wound around her. "Sea turtles, mate. A pair of them, strapped to my feet."

"Not so easy, is it?" Jack inquired.

Will smiled grimly. "But I do owe you thanks, Jack."

Jack's smile dropped. "You do?"

"After you tricked me onto that ship to square your debt with Jones…" Will now said, his voice hard as a rock. All humor had left him now.

"_Uh oh," _Amanda thought.

Elizabeth turned to stare at Jack, her eyes wide. "What?"

"What?" Jack mocked her, using the same exact pitch.

Will rolled his eyes. "…I was reunited with my father." He slightly pulled away from Elizabeth to say this statement more to her than to anyone else.

"Oh!" Jack cried out. "Well…you're welcome, then." He smiled bitterly at Will.

Amanda turned to stare at him in disbelief.

Elizabeth came up walking from behind her towards Jack. "Everything you said to me, every word was a lie!"

Jack raised his eyebrows. "Pretty much." He shrugged apologetically. "Time and tide, love."

Will was suddenly in front of the chest with Davy Jones' heart lying inside. He was breathing heavily, his eyes dark, yet determined. He pulled out a dagger from the inside of his coat pocket and shoved it out of its protective cover. He fell onto his knees and stared hungrily at the chest.

"Oi! What are you doing?" Jack asked, walking over quickly towards Will.

Will did not bother to look up, but continued to fiddle with the lock of the chest. Amanda was astonished to see that he was holding a key in his right hand. He took a deep breath, wiped his brow, and answered, "I'm going to kill Jones."

Without any warning, Jack pulled his sword out of his belt in lightning fast speed. He pressed it against Will's left shoulder, the blade lightly touching the dirty fabric of his wet coat. Elizabeth and Amanda gasped at the same time, while Will merely looked casually over his shoulder at the sword.

"Can't let you do that, William," Jack warned under his breath. Will looked at Jack, curious now. "'Cause if Jones is dead, who's to call his terrible beastie off the hunt, eh?" He smirked.

There was a moment of silence as Jack continued to press his sword against Will's shoulder, his dark eyes heated and lined with anticipation. "Jack," Amanda started, "couldn't you just let h--."

"Now now now," Jack interrupted, raising his free hand to her, "let's not get too rash, shall we?" He looked back down at Will, waiting for an answer.

Will sighed, his jaw tight. Amanda could just imagine that his teeth would be grinding together, his hands clenched into cramped fists. He slowly buried the key into the palm of his right hand and, with great care, placed the chest back onto the sand.

Jack smiled in victory.

Will stood up and backed away from the chest, still holding securely onto the key. He stood next to Elizabeth, but his eyes were on Jack, full of indignation and regret.

Jack merely stepped closer, his sword still pointed at Will, and held up his left hand to him. "Now, if you please. The key," he breathed.

Elizabeth and Will's arms were now touching, and he was looking down at the sand, his face still as tight as it was before. Amanda looked over at Norrington and saw that he was staring at Will with a look of determination. She frowned, puzzled at him for a moment, but then looked back at Elizabeth and Will.

Carefully, yet stealthily, Will reached across Elizabeth's belt and took her sword from her with unbeatable speed. He pointed it directly at Jack, his face now free from any compaction. He was smiling, sensing the change in the situation.

Again, Elizabeth and Amanda gasped. Their eyes met for a fraction of a second, but then went back to the interaction between the two pirates.

"I keep the promises I make, Jack," Will said in a cold voice. He positioned himself in front of Elizabeth and started making his way towards Jack. Amanda backed away from the chest and moved beside Norrington. Will stared at Jack with that same look of indignation. "I intend to free my father. I hope you're here to see it."

And once again, with the sublime, indescribable, sharp noise a sword makes when being flung out of its belt, Norrington was now one of the three pointing his sword at somebody else. His blade was pointed at Will, and all four of the heads swung at this, completely taken with this change.

"I can't let you do that, either. So sorry." He cocked the side of his mouth up in a strange smile.

Jack grinned eagerly at this and began walking towards Norrington. "I knew you'd warm up to me eventually."

Norrington swung his blade around to point it at Jack. Jack stopped short, his eyes wide with surprise. The three of them were now in a deadly triangle, each threatening the other's life with the point of their sword. Jack looked between Norrington and Will for a second, his forehead creased with lines. Amanda could see the sweat beading on his forehead from where she was standing. He pointed his sword back at Will, his eyes still moving back and forth.

Norrington explained, "Lord Beckett desires the contents of that chest. I deliver it, I get my life back." His blade shuddered ever so slightly.

"Ah," Jack said in realization. "The dark side of ambition."

Norrington smiled darkly. "Oh, I prefer to see it as the promise of redemption."

All their smiles fell at once, and Amanda could suddenly feel the chill of the wind against her skin. Jack's hand suddenly gripped tightly around the handle of his sword. She watched as he bit his lower lip, what he always did when fighting in sword combat.

"Aargh!" they all three yelled out at once.

Norrington swung for Will; he rebuffed the blow, shook him off, and then clanged against Jack's sword.

Elizabeth screamed and fell back from them. Amanda could feel the wind of Norrington's blade against the cloth of her stomach. She gasped in fright, and in trying to run back from the fight as far away as she could, tripped over the skirt of her dress, and landed on her back, in opposition to the sand. She gave a great exhale of breath and felt all the wind get knocked out of her.

She looked up quickly, however, to see what was happening in the fight. Will hit blades with Norrington and then soared in between he and Jack to jump forward and start running across the sand. Jack and Norrington hit blades, looked over at Will, and then shoved away from each other to chase after him.

"Stop it!" Elizabeth shrieked.

Amanda couldn't say anything; the wind was still knocked out of her.

The three of them soon met up again. "Hyah!" Jack cried out, swinging a low swing onto Will's sword. He bent down as Norrington and Will's blades hit over his head. As he was crouched down, he reached forward into Will's coat, grabbed the key that were hanging from his belt, and ran forward.

Norrington elbowed Will in the chest and Will fell back into the sand. Norrington pursued after Jack, keeping close behind him.

"Will!" Elizabeth cried out in worry. She knelt behind him, holding onto his shoulders.

"Guard the chest," Will ordered, and then he took off after Norrington and Jack.

Elizabeth sat there for a second, staring at the three men. And then she pouted. "No!" She sprung up from where she was sitting and took after them.

Amanda groaned as the shrieking of Elizabeth kept up. She tried to drown her out, but it was like trying to drown out a dying seagull.

"This is pathetic! This is no way for grown men to…Oh, fine!" she yelled at a new high pitch. Amanda rolled her eyes and slowly started to get up from where she was still lying. "Let's just, haul out our swords and start banging away at each other. That will solve everything! I've had it!"

At this point, Amanda was up. She banged her fist against her chest, gave a loud cough, and started to casually follow after Elizabeth. Amazingly, she was still yelling. Amanda looked at the sand and had to bury the desire of shoving it into her mouth. However, she ignored it and watched as the three men got further and further down the beach. At this point, she could not tell who was winning.

"I've had it with wobbly-legged, rum-soaked pirates!" Elizabeth bellowed at the top of her lungs. She said it with a sort of formal finality, so Amanda assumed she was finished. She walked up to stand besides her, staring emotionlessly at the fight.

"There's nothing to be done," she said quietly. Elizabeth looked at her, seeming shocked. She was still breathing quite heavily from her rant and now sand was gathered in the long strands of her hair. "Well, do you really think you can stop them? Look at them," she said, pointing at the three men.

Elizabeth looked ahead, her shoulders rising and falling with her breaths. She slowly started to shake her head, pressing her teeth together. "I can't believe this is happening," she muttered. "I have come all this way to bring Will back home and now I find out that he has a new mission at hand. Ugh!" she finally groaned.

Amanda did all she could to not roll her eyes.

"There has to be _something_ that we could do," Elizabeth persisted. "I can't stand this anymore!"

Amanda shrugged her shoulders. "You could always pretend to faint. That once stopped an execution from happening."

Elizabeth began to smile, but then suddenly got serious. She looked at Amanda with bright eyes, a coy look on her face.

"I wasn't serious," Amanda said.

"But that's a brilliant idea! Here, stand aside! Let's see if it works."

Amanda stepped back a couple of steps to watch this. She had a feeling it was going to be pretty amusing. Once more, she looked at Will, Jack, and Norrington. There was no way they could ever notice anything outside of the fight at the moment. So, Elizabeth was basically Amanda's form of entertainment at the current time.

Elizabeth dusted the sand from her front, pushed back her hair, and dramatically raised her hand in the air. Amanda saw that she pushed her lips forward and gave an uplift look to her face. "Oh! Ohhhhh!" she cried out over the clanging. The men did not look back. "The heat!" she called out before she came tumbling to the ground.

Amanda pressed her fist against her lips so as not to let out a laugh. The men had not paid any attention to her fainting. They were continuing to bang their swords against one another.

Elizabeth fumed, sat up from where she was lying, and crossed her legs in a heated fury. "Bloody pirates," she muttered to herself.

"Well, it worked once before." Elizabeth looked over her shoulder at her. "And it was much more important in the occasion it worked."

Elizabeth turned her head back forward. "That's true. And at least I tried."

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps on sand came up from behind them. Amanda turned in defense, her hand on the handle of her sword. But the two men were running perpendicular from them. Amanda realized that it was Pintel and Ragetti. She smiled in relief. "Pintel…Ragetti…what are you t--?"

They ran right past her, their faces turning red. Their speed increased and they took off across the sand to start sprinting towards the woods ahead.

She frowned in confusion, but then looked at what they were both holding in between them. It was not hard to see the intricate carvings of Jones' chest swinging through the salty air. Realization hit Amanda with a hard blow. They were stealing the chest.

Elizabeth had clearly seen because she stood up and started to chase after the two of them.

"Wait!" Amanda cried out. "What are you doing? We can't stop them either!"

"Stay here!" Elizabeth called over her shoulder. "Go back to the boats. Get them ready to head back to the ship!"


	15. Author's Note!

Hey, readers! Just so you know, I will DEFINITELY be finishing all my stories. I just lost the ability to write for a while, because of a family issue that took up much of my time. I apologize greatly for this. However, I will continue all of my stories when I get back home from college, which will be near the end of November. Don't give up on me! I'll finish very soon!


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